New Friends New Enemies
by Don't Call Me Kitty-Kat
Summary: Harry Potter's 5th year at Hogwarts, and there is an evil new DADA teacher. Dumbledore suspects even more dangers, so calls in some help from old friends-the Jedi. Anakin Skywalker,Ahsoka Tano,Captain Rex and some others join out heroes in their 5th year.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, so, this is my first fanfic, so don't judge too harshly, yeah? Anyway, this story takes place in HP and the Order of the Phoenix, and during the Clone Wars (Star Wars!). Not the movie though – just sometime during those three years. **

**Anyway, here goes…**

**Chapter One**

The Great Hall was filled with the usual excited buzz as people chatted to their friends and waited for the start of term feast to begin – and the Sorting, of course.

Harry Potter, however, was scanning the staff table at the top of the Hall, searching for the familiar, huge, bearded face of his friend, Professor Rubeus Hagrid.

"He's not there."

"He can't have left." Ron Weasley said, also scanning the top table, but there was no real need; Hagrid's size made him impossible to miss.

"Don't be ridiculous, of course he hasn't." Said Hermione Granger briskly, her eyes slightly narrowed as they travelled up and down the top table.

"Maybe he's not back yet," Harry began, lowering his voice and leaning across the table so that Neville – who was sitting right next to him – wouldn't hear. "You know, from his job with the Order."

"Yeah," Said Ron, looking and sounding relieved. "Yeah, that'll be it."

"Hm," Hermione frowned, not looking at all convinced. She let out a sudden gasp. "Who's _that_?"

Harry followed her gaze to the top table, and, with a sickening jolt, recognised that familiar toad's face and ludicrous bow perched atop greying hair as the woman turned to take a sip from the goblet in front of her.

"It's that Umbridge woman!"

"Who?" Ron and Hermione both looked mystified.

"She was at my hearing; she works for Fudge!"

"No!" Hermione's eyes were wide as she scanned the staff table again. Harry couldn't help but notice that there seemed to be at least two more seats than usual. "No, he can't have! He just can't!"

"What's she on about?" Ron asked Harry, but Harry just shrugged. He didn't have a clue either.

They didn't get the chance to ask her, for at that moment the colossal doors to the Great Hall opened and Professor McGonagall walked in carrying a small wooden stool and a ratty old pointed wizards hat, followed by a line of nervous looking first years.

But that wasn't what drew the eyes of Harry, Ron, Hermione and nearly everyone else in the vast hall.

It was the young girl near the back of the group, who looked about their own age. They couldn't be sure about this, however, because she wasn't human. Not fully, at any rate.

Although humanoid in shape, she was clearly not: with vivid, white tattoo-type markings that contrasted with her tanned looking skin, and her hair…her hair was the weirdest part about her.

It rose in two identical humps on top of her head and trailed down her back. But she didn't seem to have strands of hair, either; it seemed solid, and was stripped blue and white.

Very odd.

None of them had ever seen anything like her before. Not even Hermione, who had read hundreds of books; not one of them ever having mentioned anything like the girl in front of her.

The first years all lined up in an awkward line in front of the raised platform where the staff table stood, as Professor McGonagall sat down the stool and placed the Sorting Hat on top of it.

The whole school's eyes fixed on the hat as a brim opened at the bottom and it began to sing.

Once the ratty-old hat had finished it's song – "Blimey, it's branched out a bit this year." Said Ron – McGonagall began to call put names in alphabetical order and the first years were slowly but surely sorted into their houses.

The strange looking girl was sorted last, as she was to be placed in fifth year. Finally, Professor McGonagall called out "Tano, Ahsoka" and the girl stepped forwards, sat down, and placed the sorting hat on her head.

It stayed silent for a few seconds, and Harry wondered – as he always did – what it was saying and hearing inside her head, then yelled: "Gryffindor!"

Harry clapped loudly along with the rest of the Gryffindors as the girl – Ahsoka – hurried over and sat down; sighing with relief as she escaped the stares and whispers that had followed her progress across the hall.

She had sat down in the empty space opposite Hermione: opposite Harry and Ron.

She smiled slightly, acutely aware of the completely unembarrassed and totally rude stare Ron was sending her way. "Hey. I'm Ahsoka."

Hermione smiled back, and kicked Ron under the table. Ahsoka's lips twitched as he yelped in pain and glowered at Hermione.

"Hello, I'm Hermione Granger. And this is Ron Weasley and Harry Potter."

Ahsoka smiled genuinely this time. "Nice to meet you."

"You too." Ron replied, remembering his manners for once.

Harry merely nodded.

Hermione regarded the strange new girl curiously. "You didn't seem surprised to see Harry. Normally people flip out."

Harry scowled at this description, but was, nonetheless, curious about the girl himself.

"Oh," She began, slightly uncertainly. "Well, see…I'm not from around here."

"Yeah, no kidding." Ron commented, his eyes once again taking in her strange appearance.

But Ahsoka just smiled and turned to the food that had appeared in front of them.

Dumbledore got to his feet as the plates cleared of all the delicious food – Ron had been greatly amused at Ahsoka's wariness when it appeared; it didn't seem like she knew what much of it was, but she seemed to like what she ate.

"Welcome, welcome, to another year at Hogwarts!" He began, beaming around at them all, with his arms outstretched. "Now that we are all fed and watered, I have a few start of term notices for you.

"Firstly, I would like to inform out new first years that the Forbidden Forest is exactly that – forbidden. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." He added mildly, and Harry, Ron and Hermione grinned at each other.

"We have a few changes in staffing this year, and I would be grateful if you were to hear me out while I explain them.

"Firstly, I would like to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care Of Magical Creatures until such times as Professor Hagrid returns. Now, if you would all join me in a round of applause for the dear woman." Everyone clapped as Grubbly-Plank stood and gave a cheerful bow, before sitting back down with a wide smile on her face. Harry felt a plummeting sensation in his stomach. Dumbledore hadn't mentioned how long Hagrid would be gone for: he didn't know either. Well, at least now he knew that he was coming back.

Dumbledore continued on. "Secondly, I would like to introduce Professor Dolores Umbridge, who will be taking up the post of Defence Against The Dark Arts. And I am sure you will all join me in wishing the Professor a warm welcome."

A smattering of applause filled the Great Hall – not nearly as much as Grubbly-Plank had gotten. For Umbridge had a distinct, unlikable look about her as Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged horrified glances, their worst fears realised.

"Now, lastly – and I think probably the most important of all – I would like to introduce Anakin Skywalker and, er, Rex, who have kindly agreed to do me a huge favour and provide additional security for the castle for a while. Now, I would like – "

But Dumbledore broke off mid-sentence, turning to stare behind him at Umbridge, who, it became clear, had stood up – though it was hard to tell at first, as there really wasn't much difference in her height standing or sitting – and clearly intended to give some kind of speech. A couple of people shared looks and sniggered: this woman clearly didn't know how things were done at Hogwarts.

She cleared her throat with a ridiculous _hem hem_, and began to speak in a well rehearsed tone, her speech obviously having been learned form heart and practised many times.

Harry zoned out, blocking out the dreariness of it all, and looked around the Hall. Few people seemed to really be listening, most having started up conversations with their friends again; some were even having a game of exploding snap. He spotted Ernie McMillan over on the Hufflepuff table gazing towards Umbridge, but his gaze was unfocused, and his jaw was slack. Harry guessed he was only pretending to listen, trying to live up to the shiny new prefect's badge glittering on his chest.

Hermione was taking in Umbridge's every word however, and, judging the expression on her face, what she was hearing wasn't good.

Ahsoka too was listening, but Harry couldn't help but notice how her eyes kept flickering to the two young men at the top table who he now knew to be called Anakin Skywalker and Rex, who were also watching Umbridge, but looking bored – though still mostly paying attention.

It took a moment or two for everyone to realise that Umbridge had stopped talking, but even then the best she got was a couple of claps before there was silence again. Even the teachers only brought their hands together two or three times before sitting stony faced – clearly they hadn't liked what they had heard. Neither, for that matter, did Hermione and Ahsoka.

Dumbledore stood again. "Thank you, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating."

"Yes, it certainly was illuminating," Said Hermione in a low voice.

"You're not telling me you enjoyed it?" Ron said quietly, turning a glazed face to Hermione. "That was the dullest speech I've ever heard, and _I_ grew up with Percy."

"I said illuminating, not enjoyable." Said Hermione. "It explained a lot."

"Did it?" Asked Harry, surprised. "Sounded like a load of waffle to me."

"There was a lot of important stuff hidden in the waffle." Said Hermione grimly.

"Like what?" Asked Ron blankly.

"How about: 'progress for progress sake must be discouraged'? How about: 'pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited'?" Ahsoka supplied.

"Exactly." Hermione agreed.

"Well, what does that mean?" Asked Ron impatiently.

"It means the Ministry is interfering with Hogwarts."

There was a great clattering and banging around them as chair scraped back and people stood up.

Hermione leapt up out of her seat. "Ron! We're supposed to bring the first-years to the common room!"

"Oh…Oh yeah!" Said Ron, who had obviously forgotten. "Hey, hey you lot! Midgets!"

"Ron! You can't call them that. First-years! First-years, follow me please!"

"What! They are! They're titchy! No way were we ever that small."

"I know that, Ron, but you still can't call them that! First-years!"

Harry grinned at a pair of particularly small first-years, and they looked terrified, hurrying away and whispering to each other. The grin fell off his face. "See you," He muttered sullenly to the other two, and set off out of the hall.

"Hey! Wait up!" A voice called after him, and he felt a warm hand on his arm. He glanced up, and saw Ahsoka smiling at him nervously.

"What?" He asked, not caring that he sounded rude.

She shrugged it off. "See, I don't actually know where the common room is. I was wondering if you could show me?"

They didn't talk as they made their way through the crowded castle towards the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Er…" Said Harry when he reached it, realising he didn't know the new password.

"No password, no entry." She said sternly. He felt Ahsoka slump slightly next to him, and heard her sigh softly, and mutter "Typical." under her breath.

"Harry, I know it!" Someone panted up behind him, and he turned to see Neville jogging up towards them. "Guess what it is? I'm actually going to be able to remember it for once –" He waved the stunted little cactus he had shown them on the train. "_Mimbulus mimbletonia_!"

"Correct." Said the Far Lady, and she swung forward on her portrait, revealing a large hole in the wall that was the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room.

Ahsoka stared around in awe, and Harry grinned slightly. "See you." He said, and headed off up the spiral staircase, followed by Neville.

"Uh…" She muttered, as she realised she didn't have a clue where she was supposed to sleep. She supposed she could easily kip on one of the armchairs littered around the room if it came to it, but, truthfully, she'd prefer a bed – and not just because she hadn't slept in a proper one in a while.

She was just about to go find a suitable chair when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Hermione Granger smiling at her. She had obviously just finished telling the first-years where to go because they were heading off up two separate staircases – boys up the one Harry and Neville had disappeared up, and girls up the other.

"You know where you're sleeping?" When Ahsoka shook her head, she gestured for her to follow her. "Come on then. I'll show you."

* * *

><p>The next morning Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ahsoka headed down to breakfast together. Ahsoka was sorry to hear that people were being mean to Harry, but didn't approve of him jumping down their throats to take out his anger at everyone else. She didn't voice these thoughts though.<p>

They sat down at the long Gryffindor table – Hermione slipping into the seat next to Neville, across from Harry, Ron and Ahsoka – and began to make light conversation. Hermione hadn't asked Ahsoka anything the night before, but Ahsoka knew that she – along with Harry and Ron – was bursting with questions, and she would answer them as best she could – provided she could, without giving anything away, that is.

But it was not about Ahsoka that they first talked, though the subject was closer to the reason she was here than the other three thought.

"So, additional security, huh?" Ron began, swallowing a huge mouthful of bacon. "Wonder why Dumbledore did that."

"He said it last night after that boring speech; weren't you listening?" Fred said, sliding into the seat next to Ron while George plopped down opposite, next to Neville.

"We were too busy talking about that boring speech. Anyway, what did he say?"

"That he reckoned we needed a bit more security, in more ways than just magically. Apparently those two new guys are good with practical defence. Like fighting and stuff. Dumbledore seemed to think it important." George replied, shrugging.

"Well, he's right." Ahsoka chimed in. "Practical defence is dead useful. It's saved my life more times than I like to count."

The Weasley twins, Harry, Ron and Hermione stared at her, dumbfounded, and she knew she shouldn't have said that. "I mean…um…" She trailed off, avoiding their looks of mingled surprise and confusion.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked carefully.

Ahsoka sighed. "I'm not pretending to be an expert or anything; just…I know some stuff." She muttered.

"What kind of 'stuff'?" Ron.

"Some, y'know, self-defence stuff. Practical defence stuff." She added.

Hermione slowly nodded. "OK. If you don't want to tell us, I guess it doesn't matter." Ron started to protest, but Hermione cut him off. "No, Ron. This is Ahsoka's business: if she wants to tell us, she can, if she doesn't, then she won't."

There was a tense few minutes, and then the twins were engrossed in a conversation with others around them, cracking jokes and laughing as usual. Ahsoka felt the others relax too, and sighed in relief.

Then a new figure joined them, slipping onto the bench next to Hermione and opposite Ahsoka. Anakin Skywalker grinned at her, and she returned the grin, but he could see that her heart wasn't in it.

"What's up?" He asked, helping himself to toast. Harry, Ron and Hermione stared at him. Teachers didn't usually sit at the house tables, and they didn't usually talk to the students how Skywalker was talking to Ahsoka. They wondered if the two knew each other – after all, they did come to the school at the same time, didn't they? Then again, Umbridge did as well, and so far they had seen nothing to suggest that _they_ knew each other.

Ahsoka shrugged. "Nothing. I just…"

"Let slip that you know practical defence? Doesn't matter. They were bound to find out at some point, weren't they?"

Ahsoka looked hugely relieved at this. "I suppose so." She said, cheering up immensely. "So, how'd you sleep?"

Her master grinned. "Not bad. You?"

"Great. First time I've slept in a bed in a long time."

"Mm, I know what you mean."

"Uh, we don't." Ron said bluntly, then his face turned red as he suddenly remembered who he was talking to. "Uh, Professor."

But Anakin just smiled. "Don't." He said. "I'm not really one. I mean, come on; do I look like a professor to you?"

"Not really." Harry supplied, and the slightly older man chuckled.

"So, do you two know each other, Pro…eh, sir?" Hermione asked nervously, while blushing furiously.

Anakin rolled his electric blue eyes, but didn't comment on the title. "Sure." He said.

"How?" Ron asked. He didn't really care about being polite now, as he sort of sensed that this man didn't really care either. And he was right. Anakin wasn't interested in formalities.

"You wanna explain, or will I?"

Ahsoka grinned at him. "You can. I'm hungry."

Anakin rolled his eyes again, then looked at the trio. "I can't explain here. It's not safe. You know of the Order, right?" The three exchanged wide eyed looks, then nodded. "Well, it's connected to them. I will explain, but not here."

"'At waz wonerful explation." Ahsoka said through a mouthful of food, and Anakin snorted.

"Thanks very much." It was clear the two of them had a close relationship, but they didn't seem more than friends – it was definitely not a romantic relationship, Hermione decided.

"So, when will you explain?" Harry asked, and Anakin turned his gaze towards him, and frowned slightly.

"I don't know. Tonight, maybe. Depends on…things." He supplied vaguely, and Harry frowned. What was he hiding?

He didn't have time to dwell on the matter, however, for at that moment Professor McGonagall descended on them and handed out their timetables. She gave Anakin a searching look.

"You know, staff usually dine on the _staff_ table." She said, with emphasis on the _staff_.

Anakin sighed. "But there's no rule that says they have to. And anyway, I like it down here. I don't fit in up there."

She smiled slightly – Harry was amazed, not something she usually did – and softened infinitesimally. "No, you don't." And she moved off down the table, missing the slight grin on Anakin's face. Ahsoka rolled her eyes at him.

* * *

><p>Their first day back was boring to say the least. History of Magic, Divination, double Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Most of Harry's least favourite teachers crammed into one day. Whoopee.<p>

History of Magic passed slowly by with the ghost of Professor Binns droning on as usual, not even aware that he was speaking to a class full of students – nothing out of the ordinary there – and Harry and Ron playing exploding snap at the back of the classroom, trusting Hermione's notes that she was taking while sending them the type of look that clearly told them that she didn't approve in their behaviour the slightest bit, Ahsoka looking on interestedly, fascinated by the game.

After History of Magic, Harry, Ron and Ahsoka headed off to Divination while Hermione left for Arithmancy. Harry and Ron were greatly amused throughout the lesson by Ahsoka's imitations of Professor Trelawney – she had her down to a tee.

But even though she wasn't concentrating on the class, Ahsoka still knew what to do. They were doing crystal gazing, and she seemed to be good at it. However, Harry didn't think she was actually seeing anything in the glass orb; more like she was predicting things in her mind – seeing the future as she closed her eyes before Trelawney approached their table, eagerly awaiting Ahsoka's next prediction. She didn't say much, just some things that were going to happen in classes over the rest of the day – for example, lectures on the importance of O.W.L.s, and how Professor Umbridge wouldn't let them do magic at all in her class. No one seemed to believe this, but they were soon to be proved wrong.

"How did you do that?" Harry asked her as they made their way out into the grounds for break.

"Do what?" There was a slight spring in Ahsoka's step, and neither of the other two knew why. She seemed to have enjoyed her first morning, but it had to be one of the most boring they had ever had – except of course their games of exploding snap and Ahsoka's imitations of the old bat.

"The predictions. I know you weren't using the crystal ball."

Ron looked at them curiously. "She wasn't?"

Harry ignored him.

Ahsoka sighed. "It's…complicated." Harry opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off. "No. It's tied in with what Master Skywalker is going to explain later."

"Hang on, _Master_ Skywalker?"

"Again, it will all become clear when he explains."

"Explains what?" Hermione asked, catching up with them as they exited the oak front doors.

"How Ahsoka makes predictions and why she calls Professor Skywalker _Master_ Skywalker."

Ahsoka scowled at him, but didn't say anything more on the subject, ignoring their curious stares until they finally gave up.

* * *

><p>Potions too was eventful, and Harry was glad when Snape's attention shifted off him and onto Ahsoka.<p>

The greasy haired teachers' lips curled into a sneer as he spotted the young Togrutan next to Hermione. "Ah, you must be Miss Tano."

She stared at him coldly. "You must be Snape."

The room fell eerily silent as every head in the room turned to the pair. No one had ever heard anyone speak to Snape with so much contempt and sarcasm as the strange new girl in front of them.

Snape glowered at her. "You are as insolent as your master." He snapped. "I fail to understand why Dumbledore allows either of you in this school. I personally would never."

"You don't seem to understand much, do you." She shot back.

The rest of the lesson passed with Snape glaring at both Harry and Ahsoka with equal venom.

When they exited the drafty dungeon after the two hour long class, it was with Snape's frosty glare on their back.

"That was bloody brilliant." Ron chuckled, clapping Ahsoka on the back as they headed down to lunch.

She smiled. "Thanks."

Hermione stared disapprovingly at them. "Yes, it's all very well and funny, but _honestly_! You need to be careful, Ahsoka!"

"Why? It was just a bit of fun! No offence, but you need to lighten up, Hermione."

Harry and Ron snorted with laughter.

Hermione didn't say anything.

They sat down at the Gryffindor table, and were soon joined by Anakin again, but this time he was accompanied by Rex.

As they helped themselves to food, Anakin struck up a conversation.

"So, how was your morning?"

Ahsoka shrugged. "It was OK. There are some weird teachers here."

He chuckled. "Tell me about it. Trelawney is just strange."

Hermione giggled, and they all looked round at her. She blushed scarlet, and ducked her head back down to her plate, hiding her face behind her curtain of bushy brown hair.

"It was a surprisingly enjoyable Divination lesson, though." Ron mused, smiling slightly as he remembered Ahsoka's imitation of Trelawney going on about the inner eye.

"Oh?" Anakin asked, raising an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"Ahsoka." Harry said.

Anakin's eyes glinted mischievously at his young Padawan. "You entertained them."

She flicked a pea at him, which he easily deflected by twitching his wrist and batting it back at her. It hit her on the face, and she scowled at him.

"I _entertained _them with imitations of Trelawney." She snapped, and he grinned again.

"I knew that."

"How, exactly, did you know that?" She demanded.

"Same way you made all those predictions. You might want to tone it down a bit before you give anything away, though." He replied easily, biting into a sausage from the platter in front of him.

She scowled at him, but didn't reply.

"Potions was…interesting, too." Hermione began timidly, and Anakin turned his gaze in her again, fighting back the eye-roll that threatened to peek out as she blushed crimson under his gaze.

"What happened?"

"Ahsoka and Snape had a shouting match." Harry said, grinning at the memory.

"It wasn't a shouting match." Ahsoka said, relaxing out of her anger as she grabbed a slice of bacon before Rex could get to it, flashing him a cheeky smile as he glowered at her.

"Near enough, though."

"What did you say?" Anakin asked, amused.

"He was going on about how I was as insolent as you, and how he wouldn't let us in the castle if he had his way, so I said he didn't seem to understand much."

Anakin laughed. "He said I was insolent? Git." He said lightly.

At that moment, a shadow fell over them, and they looked up to see a bat-like figure sneering down at them.

"Well, well, well," He said silkily. "If it isn't Skywalker. I would have thought you'd rather be out 'kicking ass' than stuck in here, ah, _protecting_."

Anakin looked back at him, perfectly calm, but Ahsoka could see that mischievous glint back in his eyes. Uh oh.

"I'm amazed you even know such a phrase, _Professor_. And who says I volunteered for this? I'd far rather be out on the front-lines than in you company."

Ahsoka groaned inwardly as Snape's face contorted, and he swept away towards the top table, where he took the vacant seat next to the headmaster and began talking furiously to him, still shooting Anakin murderous looks as Dumbledore calmly replied.

Anakin chuckled again, then went back to his lunch.

"Why does he hate you so much?" Harry asked, curious.

Anakin shrugged. "No idea."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Maybe it's because you're rude to him?" Ahsoka suggested innocently, and was rewarded by a half-hearted glare from her master.

"I'm rude to everybody." He said lightly.

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" He said, pretending to sound offended, while Harry, Ron and Hermione watched on, amused.

"Well, you aren't exactly known for manners, are you?" Rex commented

"You wouldn't have manners either if you grew up on Tantooine."

The three observers didn't have a clue what Tantooine was supposed to be.

"You're more known for shoot first, ask questions later, yes?" Ahsoka chipped in.

He shot her a withering look. "No."

"Alright then, you're known as The Hero With No Fear, galactic war hero, and all that jazz."

"Will you shut up! We are here _undercover_. What part of that don't you understand?"

"You're undercover?" Hermione asked interestedly, and Anakin spoke in a language that none of them understood, but it was obvious that whatever he said wasn't exactly civilised.

"Language, master." Ahsoka drawled. "No cursing. It's not polite."

He glowered at her, then turned to Hermione. "All will be revealed when I explain things to you, but I don't have time right now."

"You fight on the front-lines?" Ron asked, confused, and Anakin sighed.

"Later, Ron."

"So, you're known for your bravery, your lack of manners and your hatred of politicians, so tell me, how did you end up marrying a Senator?" Ahsoka mused, and he master just stared at her, and shook his head, not answering. Rex choked on his food, and gaped at Anakin.

"You're married?" Harry asked, while a suddenly quiet Hermione dropped her gaze to her plate again, dejected.

"That is a very good question." Rex said, still gaping at him. "You're _married_? I though that was forbidden?"

"It is. But you know I'm not usually one for following rules." He said, running his hand through his hair.

"Yeah, but there is a difference between _rules_ and the _Jedi CODE_!"

"Must be hard. I mean, you say you fight on the front lines, and now you're here?" Harry continued.

Anakin shrugged. "We knew it wouldn't be easy. And anyway, we're used to it."

No one mentioned anything more on the subject, and Ahsoka relaxed around the others more and more. They were really starting to become friends.

* * *

><p><strong>Love it? Hate it? Plz, plz, PLZ leave some reviews and let me know what you thought!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Tnx for the reviews – I haven't decided if I'm doing pairing yet, but Anakin is probably going to screw Umbridge. Just a heads up. **

**Anyway, back to the story…**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

The afternoon passed slowly for Harry. He was itching to hear what Anakin, Ahsoka and Rex were hiding, and the fact that people kept sneering at him and yelling insults down the corridors wasn't helping either.

He made his way to Defence Against the Dark Arts with Ron, Hermione and Ahsoka in a thoroughly bad mood.

"Oh, lighten up, Harry!" Ahsoka said, almost skipping along in her excitement – what exactly she was excited about was anyone's guess, but hey. "You look like a Gundark on drugs."

"A what?" He asked blankly.

She laughed, "Never mind. I forgot you don't have them on this planet."

They all stared at her, and she swore.

"Shit! I've done it again, haven't I? Given stuff away!"

"Uh, we still don't get it." Ron muttered. "But that was a really serious thing to say – either that, or you're cracked. Which I still haven't ruled out, by the way." He reminded her, and a grin flickered across her face.

"Oh, whatever. You'll understand as soon as Skyguy explains."

"Skyguy?" Hermione asked, and Ahsoka laughed again.

"Anakin."

Hermione nodded, and they entered the classroom. They grabbed seats near the front, and pulled out their set book – Basics for Beginners, by Wilbert Slinkhard – and their wands.

"Good afternoon, class!" Umbridge simpered, coming down the centre aisle between the tables. A couple of people muttered a lazy: "Good afternoon", but not many. "Tut, tut, _that_ won't do." She chided in her sickening, childish voice. "When I say 'Good afternoon, class', I would like you all to reply 'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge'. Now, shall we try that again?" Not like they had a choice, Ahsoka thought. She really didn't like this woman, and she had hardly even met her. She could feel the aura around her, though – and she wasn't a nice person, judging by that. "Good afternoon, class!"

"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge." They chanted back, in a dead monotone.

"Now, that _is_ better!" She simpered, and Ahsoka choked as she fought back her laughter at this idiotic woman. She could imagine what Anakin would do – better not go there; it would only make her laugh harder. "Wands away, please!"

There was much grumbling and shuffling as people stuffed their wands back into their bags, and a few people shot Ahsoka shocked looks. After all, she had predicted this exact thing would happen in Divination. She smirked slightly, and winked at Ron as he gaped openly at her. He quickly composed himself, and grinned back.

Professor Umbridge opened her handbag, extracted her own wand, which was an unusually short one, and tapped the blackboard sharply with it; words appeared on the board at once:

_Defence Against The Dark Arts_

_A return to Basic Principles_

"Well now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it?" Stated Professor Umbridge, turning back to face the class with her hands clasped neatly in front of her and that horrid, sickly sweet smile back on her face. Not a good look on anyone, let alone her! "The constant changing of teachers, many of whom don't even have appeared to have followed any ministry-approved curriculum, has, unfortunately, led to you being far below the standard we would expect from OWL students.

"You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please."

She rapped the blackboard again; the first message vanished and was replaced by the 'Course Aims'.

_Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic._

_Learning to recognise situations in which defensive magic can legally be allowed._

_Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use. _

For a couple of minutes the room was full f the scratching quills on parchment – even Ahsoka's vibrant energy was beginning to dim around the edges. When everyone had copied down Professor Umbridge's three course aims she asked, "Has everybody got a copy of _Defensive Magical Theory_ by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

There was a dull murmur of assent throughout the room.

"Tut, tut. When I ask you a question, I expect you to reply 'Yes, Professor Umbridge' or 'No, Professor Umbridge'. Now, we'll try that again: Has everyone got a copy of the set book?" She asked in her horrible, sickly sweet voice.

"Yes, Professor Umbridge." Rang through the room.

"Good. Now, I would like you to please read chapter one: there will be no need to talk."

"No need to think is more like it." Ahsoka muttered under her breath as Umbridge toddled past their table on her way back up to her desk, where she flopped down in a way that she obviously considered delicately and lady-like. But was actually the opposite.

Harry began reading. It was tedious work, and he found that he had read the same line three times already, and was only on the second page five minutes. He let his mind wander. He glanced to his left; Ron was staring absently into space, twirling his quill round and round in his fingers while daydreaming with a slightly wistful expression on his face. Next to him Ahsoka too was staring into space, but she was frowning slightly, and looked deep in thought. Harry wondered what exactly she was thinking – was it something to do with what she, Anakin and Rex were going to tell him, Ron and Hermione tonight? Glancing to his right, however, he found the shock of his life: Hermione hadn't even opened her book, for what was probably the first time in her life disobeying a teacher.

As more and more people began to switch their attention from the tedious reading to the curious sight of Hermione sitting stony faced with her hand in the air, Umbridge was no longer able to pretend that she hadn't noticed.

"Something you wanted to ask about the chapter, dear?" Umbridge whispered, crouching down in front of Hermione's desk, obviously trying not to disturb the rest of the class.

"Not about the chapter, no." Hermione, on the other hand, spoke in a loud, carrying voice that made sure everyone could hear.

"Well, we're reading now. If you have any questions, then you can ask them at the end of the class."

"I have a question about your course aims." Hermione interrupted, still speaking in that loud, clear, carrying voice.

Umbridge raised an eyebrow. "I'm certain the course aims are perfectly clear should you read them through carefully." She said a little stiffly.

"Well I don't." She replied bluntly. "There's nothing in there about actually using the defensive spells."

"_Using_ spells?" Umbridge gave an incredulous laugh. "Why, I can't imagine a situation in my class where you would need to use spells, miss…?"

"Granger."

"Miss Granger."

"We're not going to use magic?" Ron demanded, and by now everyone was listening in.

"Students will raise their hands when they speak in my class, Mr…?" She said sharply.

"Weasley." Ron said, thrusting his fist in the air.

She smiled smugly, and turned her back, but by now there were several other hands waving in the air.

"And your name is?" She asked Parvati.

"Parvati Patil. And isn't there a practical bit in our O.W.L? Aren't we supposed to show that we can actually do the counter-curses and stuff?"

"As long as you have studied the theory hard enough, there is no reason why you should not be able to perform them in carefully controlled examination conditions. And you are?" She asked Seamus.

"Seamus Finnegan. And are you telling me that the first time we're going to do the spells is in our exam?"

"I repeat, as long as you have studied the theory hard enough –"

"And what good's theory in the real world?" Harry cut in loudly.

"But this is school, Mr Potter, not the real world. Who do you expect would want to attack young people like yourselves?" She simpered in that falsely sweet voice.

"Oh, I don't know." Harry fumed. "Maybe…Lord Voldemort."

There were several gasps, a couple of muffled screams, and Neville even fell off his seat in fear at the mention of the name. Ahsoka didn't react at all, merely sat and glared at Umbridge, imagining her chained to a target practice board on board one of the Republic Cruisers as it flew towards the next battle and the Clones practiced, refining their skills so as not to get rusty. She _really_ didn't like this woman.

"Ten points, from Gryffindor, Mr Potter!" Umbridge said with a certain air of triumph, then continued;

"Now let me make this quite clear," Umbridge said, her voice now with a menacing, dangerous edge to it. "You have been told that a certain, dark wizard has returned from the dead. This. Is. A. _Lie_."

"It's not a lie! I saw him; I fought him!" Harry yelled, leaping to his feet.

"Mr-Potter-you-have-already-lost-your-house-ten-points,-do-not-make-matters-worse-for-yourself." She said in one breath.

Harry kicked aside his chair, and made to storm up to the front, but Hermione put a hand on his arm, holding him back.

"No, Harry!" She hissed. Harry ignored her.

"So according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead off his own accord, did he?" He demanded, and fury blazed in his eyes as he glared at this stupid toad of a woman with vicious loathing.

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident." She shrieked.

"It was murder!" Harry roared.

Umbridge lunged forward with sudden, unexpected speed. The whole room seemed to freeze as it looked like she was about to slap Harry.

Ahsoka's hand clamped round Umbridge's wrist as she too sprang to her feet, and her fist connected with Umbridges jaw, snapping her head back.

The whole class lapsed into a shocked silence, staring at either Umbridge - who had a hand at her aching jaw and was staring at Ahsoka with wide, bulging eyes – or Ahsoka, who was glaring back just as fiercely, and panting hard, visibly trying to restrain her temper. She usually played most situations closer to the book than her master did, but sometimes she couldn't help it.

The classroom door opened behind them, and everyone turned to see who had entered.

Anakin Skywalker walked in, his sharp eyes falling instantly in Ahsoka and Umbridge, who were still caught up in a death-glare match.

"You called, Professor?" He said. His tone was polite, but Ahsoka could hear the laughter behind it. Her lips twitched, and Umbridge looked like she was about to strangle her.

"DO NOT SMIRK AT ME, YOU STUPID GIRL!" She shrieked. She took a deep breath, calming herself, and turned to face Anakin.

"Yes, Mr Skywalker." Anakin's eyebrow twitched slightly at the title, but he didn't comment. Odd, Harry thought. Surely that was what he was usually known as. "I want you to teach these two impudents a lesson." She shot Harry and Ahsoka a nasty look. "That is, after all, what you are here for."

"That is, after all, _not_ what I am here for." Anakin replied calmly.

Umbridge attempted to look down her nose at him, but this didn't really work as he was at least two heads taller than her. "You are here for keeping the _students_" Her voice twisted around the word, as though it was disgusting to say, "In line. And you will show me more respect, in future."

"I am here for extra security, _ma'am_." There were a couple of sniggers around the room. "_Not_ to do your dirty work."

"This little brat punched me!" Umbridge shrieked, pointing a stubby finger at Ahsoka.

"Oh, come _on_!" She scoffed, "That can hardly be passed as a punch."

"You still did it! What do have to say to _that_, Skywalker?" Umbridge was breathing rather fast and hard now.

Ahsoka met Anakin's sidelong smirk with the same.

"Right on." He said, and turned and walked out the door, leaving a sniggering class and a fuming Professor behind him.

* * *

><p>Only Harry was sent to detention that night, much to everyone's surprise. They had all thought that Ahsoka would get one too, but it seemed that Umbridge had realised that Anakin was behind Ahsoka, and that he wouldn't tolerate it if she was openly hostile and violent towards her. Not that Ahsoka couldn't take care of herself, as Harry was quickly beginning to realise. She hadn't told them much, but it was the way that she seemed hyped-up after the confrontation with Umbridge, almost like she had had a shot of adrenaline that was now coursing through her system so that she seemed to crackle with life and energy. It was slightly strange.<p>

Umbridge kept Harry in her office until past midnight, making him slice his hand open over and over again. But Harry didn't go straight to bed.

Anakin had told him, Ron and Hermione at dinner to meet him in the Transfiguration room at midnight, and he wouldn't miss this for the world. Anakin had agreed to tell them what they were here for, and he was dying to know. It was the knowledge that he was finally going to get to the bottom of an infuriating puzzle at long last – even though it had only been a day – that had helped him through four hours of slicing his hand open without once complaining.

He hurried along the corridors towards the Transfiguration classroom, horribly aware that he was already running late and that they may well have started without him, or – even worse – decided that they weren't going to tell them after all.

But when he arrived he saw to his relief that they were all there, waiting for him. Professor McGonagall was there as well as Professors Dumbledore and Snape, the latter of which Harry was more than a little pissed off to see. He'd just spent a torturous four hours with Umbridge, he didn't need Snape making his day any worse. Not that that was physically possible, but hey.

Anakin's eyes were slightly narrowed as Harry entered the room.

"Sorry I'm late." He said, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. Anakin's gaze fell on his cut hand, and he frowned slightly, but didn't comment, which Harry was immensely grateful for.

Ahsoka too had seen what her master had, and she opened her mouth furiously to say something, but a look from Anakin silenced her. She scowled, but didn't say anything.

"Now that Potter has finally decided to grace us with his presence," Snape began, throwing Harry an icy glare. "Perhaps we can get started."

All eyes in the room turned towards Anakin, Rex and Ahsoka, but no one said anything for a few moments.

The Anakin said; "Maybe we'd better all sit down. It's a lot to take in."

They did as he suggested, and sat; first moving a few tables into a small cluster in the middle of the room so that it would be easier to communicate.

Ahsoka sighed. "Where do we start?" She looked inquiringly at Anakin.

"How about at the start." Snape sneered. Dumbledore shot him and icy glare – not the cutest of things to be met with, Harry thought to himself, hiding a grin as Snape scowled and closed his mouth.

Anakin too shot him a glare, but his was considerably scarier than Dumbledore's. Then he looked around the little cluster of tables again, and said the last thing Harry had been expecting: "There is another Galaxy out there; a Galaxy in which most planets can sustain life in some living form."

He paused to let the information sink in, his voice replaced with a stunned silence. Out of all the Hogwartians, only Dumbledore didn't look surprised.

"So…you guys are from another _planet_?" Ron asked incredulously, and grinned as Anakin nodded. "_Wicked_!"

Rex chuckled.

"Ahsoka here is a Togrutan. Her home planet was destroyed years ago, before she was brought to the Jedi Temple. Rex is a clone; there is a planet – Kamino – where the best cloners live. Rex is part of an army that was created for the Republic. He serves alongside me on the frontlines."

"And Skyguy here is from Tantooine: one of the most barren, baddass planets you will ever come across, ruled by the Hutts – evil gangsters who make a trade out of slaves."

Anakin grimaced as though her words had struck a nerve, but he didn't reply.

"Isn't that right, Master?" Ahsoka hadn't noticed the change in his expression, which he quickly schooled as she turned to look at him enquiringly.

"Sure thing, Snips." He said quickly. A little too quickly.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You know, you never did tell me about your past. What are you hiding anyway?"

Anakin glared at her. "Let it go, Ahsoka." He hissed.

"But-!"

"No!"

She scowled, and crossed her arms, slumping back in her chair. "Master Kenobi knows." She muttered.

"_Master Kenobi_ knows very little. He doesn't want to know." Her master snapped.

She looked at him in shock. "What?"

Anakin didn't reply, but turned once more to face the others. "The Jedi are a group of people who are able to harness the Force." Seeing their confused looks, he smiled slightly and continued. "The Force is a bit like magic, only we don't need wands. There are also people who use the Force to do evil – like Voldemort. These people are called Sith. Once someone has turned to the Dark Side, it's almost impossible for them to turn back; they become so absorbed in their own power."

"So, you three are Jedi?" Hermione asked timidly.

Anakin smiled again, but shook his head. "No, just me and Ahsoka."

"So where does Rex fit into all of this?" McGonagall asked.

A slightly dark look crossed Anakin's face, making him look suddenly dangerous. "Not long ago the Separatists disbanded from the Republic. The Galaxy is now ripped apart by a Galactic Civil War. The Jedi were sent out onto the battlefield, and assigned troops – clones. Rex was assigned as my Captain. He's been with me on almost every mission."

"So…you must have a rank, right?" Harry asked.

"He's a General." Ahsoka piped up. "Almost all Jedi were made them."

"So are you a General too?" Ron asked, impressed.

She smiled, and shook her head. "Nope. Only Knights and Masters were made them. I'm just a lowly Padawan who stays out of trouble."

Anakin and Rex both snorted at that last statement.

"What?" She asked. "It's true!"

"Kid, the _last _thing you do is stay out of trouble." Rex chuckled affectionately, and Ahsoka scowled at him.

"Yeah, but _he's_ always the one who causes it!" She pointed an accusing finger at Anakin. "If he wasn't so reckless…"

"Enough, young one." Dumbledore chuckled. Ahsoka bowed her head respectfully and shut up.

* * *

><p>It took them a good two hours until they had covered the outlines of where the three of them had come from and why they were here. Dumbledore was an old friend of some guy called Yoda, and he had met Anakin before, so he requested his assistance for the year to provide extra security while Umbridge was a teacher here, passing information to Fudge. Anakin, being from Tantooine, knew a lot of criminal ways, and could get information on Umbridge better than even Dumbledore could. Even Ahsoka hadn't known how good a criminal her master could have made. They had explained how Yoda had assigned Ahsoka as Anakin's Padawan – student – in an effort to teach him more restraint, as he was often unpredictable, and – as Ahsoka had said – reckless. Ahsoka tended to play most situations closer to the book than Anakin, but she was quickly coming o realise that there is no substitute for gut instinct. Despite Anakin's recklessness, the success of his missions could not be argued with. He was a Jedi who preferred to go on his gut instinct than to strictly follow the Jedi Code.<p>

"And now I have a question for you, sir." Rex said, turning to face his General at half two in the morning. Of all of them, Anakin seemed to be the only one who was still wide awake. Harry supposed that he was used to staying up late at nights on the front lines – Ahsoka had mentioned how some nights they didn't get any sleep at all.

"And what's that?" Anakin asked.

"Who are you married to?"

Anakin rolled his eyes. "What does that matter?"

Rex shrugged. "It doesn't, I guess. I'm just curious."

Anakin sighed, and gave him a long look, before saying; "The Senator from Naboo."

"The hot one?" Rex asked, then realised who he was talking to. He turned bright red, and didn't meet Anakin's eye.

Anakin, however, just chuckled, amused. "Yes, Rex. The hot one."

"Er…cool." Rex muttered. He didn't know what else to say. What _did_ you say when you found out that the General you had been serving beside on the front lines for months was secretly married, going against the laws of the Jedi, and to a _senator_ of all people? Anakin was notorious for his hatred of politicians. Rex knew very well how he had little time for them. Anakin was the kind of person who preferred to settle things quickly and quietly, not have great big long debates about it for days on end, never really reaching a decent decision, like they did in the Senate.

* * *

><p><strong>Not the best chapter, but never mind. Plz leave me some reviews to let me know what you thought!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the delay – I got a little stuck with this chapter! Anyway, thanks for the reviews, and here's the next part of this story…**

**Chapter Three**

Harry awoke far too early the next morning – or rather, a few hours after he had gone to bed. He glanced at the alarm clock, and groaned when he saw that it was only five o'clock in the morning. Only three hours sleep. Damn.

He sighed, and got up, slowly pulling on his robes. There was no point in going back to sleep now; even though he was exhausted, he was wide awake, his mind reeling with all the information he had learned from Anakin, Ahsoka and Rex.

It was weird to think that they were actually from another planet, but even weirder to think that they had come from a galaxy that not even Hermione had heard of! It was too much to wrap his head around in just a few short hours.

Across the room from him, Ron stirred from his sleep. He glanced up and saw Harry pulling on a sock, letting out an almighty yawn as he did so.

Ron grinned as he too scrambled out of bed. "Can't sleep?" He whispered conversationally, pulling on his own robes, mindful of their still-sleeping dorm-mates.

"Nope. You?" Harry replied, his voice a whisper too as he finished getting dressed and waited for Ron, who shook his head.

They slipped quietly out of the door and down to the common-room, grabbing their favourite armchairs by the fire which had long ago burnt out.

"So, what do you think about all that, then?" Ron asked, reverting back to his usual volume now that they couldn't disturb anyone's sleep.

Harry didn't have to ask what he meant.

"It all seems a bit far fetched, but…there's something in what they say." He admitted. "I mean, not to be rude or anything, but have you ever seen anything like Ahsoka on Earth?"

Ron shook his head. "I know what you mean. Did you see Anakin's face when she mentioned that the rulers of his home planet – what did she call them again? Oh yeah, Hutt's, or something – were in the slave business? I reckon he's hiding something."

Harry nodded. "I noticed. Maybe…You don't think he could have been a slave, do you?"

Ron's face paled. "Blimey." He whispered. "You know, I reckon you're right. But…why would he keep it from her? I mean, they seem pretty close. I'd have thought she'd know."

Harry pondered this for a few seconds, and then shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe it's just not a time he likes to remember?"

Ron nodded and once more they fell into a brooding silence, each deeply absorbed in his own thoughts.

Ron was the first to break the silence.

"Do you reckon we'd ever get to go? To that other galaxy, I mean?"

Harry snorted. "I doubt it. I don't think anyone on Earth knows about it – well, maybe a couple of others, but it isn't exactly world-wide-knowledge, is it?"

Ron nodded thoughtfully.

"Be cool though."

Harry smiled slightly. "Yeah, it would." He paused for a moment, and then added; "Even though there is a war on."

"There's a war on here too, mate." Ron replied. "Just not on such a grand scale. Yet."

* * *

><p>The rest of the week passed slowly with Harry being forced to slice his hand open until all hours every night. Angelina had been furious when she found out that he was going to be missing Keeper tryouts, but she relaxed a little towards him when Ron was assigned to the team. He wasn't brilliant, she said, and there were others who had been better than him, but she thought that he could pull through.<p>

Ahsoka was curious about Quidditch, and Harry and Ron spent most of Sunday explaining the rules to her while they caught up on homework and Hermione watched Anakin and Rex's game of exploding snap along with Ginny and a purring Cruikshanks.

Having been on a high after running into Cho Chang in the Owlry the previous day, Harry had forgotten all about sending the letter to Sirius, and hadn't said a word about it to the others. His happiness was even there a little throughout Sunday – Cho liked him! Him! – but they just put it down to it being the end of a very long, very stressful week – and the fact that he didn't have any more detentions with Umbridge, of course! He was of course furious when he heard about the article in the Daily Prophet saying that Sirius was currently hiding in London, and they immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was Lucius Malfoy who had tipped off the Ministry.

"Hey, look at this piece!" Harry exclaimed, flattening the half of Hermione's paper that morning during breakfast which he had ripped off in his haste to read the article about Sirius.

"I've got all the robes I want, thanks." Ron replied.

"No, not there." Harry said, slightly irritably. "_There_." He pointed to a small piece crammed in under an advertisement for Madam Malkins Robe Shop.

_TRESPASS AT MINISTRY_

_Sturgis Podmore, 38, of number 2, Luburnum Gardens, Clapham, has appeared in front of the Wizengamot charged with trespass and attempted robbery at the Ministry of Magic on 31st August. Podmore was arrested by Ministry of Magic watch wizard Eric Munch, who found him trying to force his way through a top-security door at 1 in the morning. Podmore, who refused to speak in his own defence, was convicted on both charges and sentenced to six months in Azkaban._

"Sturgis Podmore?" Ron said slowly, "He's that block that looks like his heads been thatched, isn't he?"

"Charming," Ahsoka snorted, but he ignored her.

"He's one of the Ord –"

"Ron, _ssh_!" said Hermione, casting a terrified look around them.

"Six months in Azkaban, for trying to break through a door?" Harry asked, incredulous.

"It can't just have been for trying to get through a door," Anakin put in. "What was he doing at the Ministry at one in the morning?"

Ahsoka looked at him. "If you're trying to tell me that you've never broken into somewhere on the dead of night, I don't believe you."

Anakin, like Ron, ignored her.

"He could have been doing something for the Order…" Rex muttered through a mouthful of bacon.

"Wait a minute…" Harry said slowly. "Sturgis was supposed to come and see us off, remember?"

The others all looked at him, but he continued on:

"Yeah; he was supposed to be part of our guard going to the station, remember? Moody was annoyed because he didn't turn up, so he couldn't have been doing something for them could he?"

"Maybe they didn't expect him to get caught." Hermione suggested.

"It could be a frame-up!" Ron exclaimed loudly, and when the Harry and Hermione looked at him incredulously, he hurried to explain, lowering his voice dramatically at the threatening look on Hermione's face. "See, the Ministry suspect he's one of Dumbledore's', right? So – I dunno – they _lured_ him to the Ministry, and he wasn't trying to get through that door at all! They were just looking for some way to chuck him in Azkaban and out of the way!"

Harry and Hermione still looked sceptical, but Anakin looked thoughtful. "You know, that's not a bad idea."

"It's not?" Hermione asked blankly.

"No: I mean, I've heard of stuff like this happening back home, haven't you?" He turned questioningly to Rex, who nodded.

"Happens sometimes when the Seppies want people out of the way. Mostly they fake a Republic invasion though and just kill them." He added bitterly.

"Wow, wow, wow. Hold up a second." Ahsoka said, raising both hands in the air, palms out.

"What?"

"What the hell is _Azkaban_?"

Anakin chuckled slightly. "Wizard prison, guarded by dementors. And before you ask, they're evil beings who suck all the happiness out of you. And your soul, if they feed long enough."

Ahsoka shivered slightly. "Right." She muttered. "Glad we cleared that up."

Harry saw Anakin and Rex hide smiles.

* * *

><p>Hermione had wanted them all to tackle their homework, but Ron and Harry had found the beautiful weather outside too good to resist, and had headed out to fly for a bit before Quidditch practice. Anakin and Rex went off to do whatever it was that they had to do for 'security' around the castle while Ahsoka and Hermione headed back up to the common room to do the homework.<p>

That evening, after a terrible Quidditch session, Harry and Ron returned to the common room, exhausted and still a little worried about Katie, who had had to be taken to the Hospital Wing with Fred and George because they had accidentally given her a Blood Blisterpod by mistake, which had only made her nosebleed even worse.

"How was practice?" Hermione asked coolly as they clambered through the portrait hole.

"It was –" Harry began, but Ron interrupted before he could finish his sentence.

"Completely lousy." He said in a hollow voice, sinking into one of the comfortable chairs beside Hermione next to the fire. She looked up at him, and her frostiness seemed to melt away.

"Well, it was only your first session…" She began kindly, but he cut her off again.

"Who said it was me who made it lousy?" He demanded angrily.

Hermione looked taken aback. "No-one. I just thought…"

"I was bound to be rubbish?"

"No! Of course not! Look, you said it was lousy, and I just…"

"I'm going to start on that homework." He snarled, and stomped off towards the boys' dormitories, vanishing from sight. Hermione immediately turned to Harry.

"_Was_ he lousy?"

"No," Harry said loyally. She just raised an eyebrow. "Well, I suppose he couldn't have been better." He muttered. "But it was only the first session, like you said…"

Hermione sighed, and moved away to where Ginny sat, where a purring Cruikshanks immediately jumped up into her lap as they began chatting, obviously not wanting to be followed.

Harry sank down into a chair opposite Ahsoka, who hadn't said a thing throughout the entire confrontation. She glanced up now, and smiled at him. He couldn't help but smile back. She had a nice smile, he noticed, and then felt a faint pang of panic at the swooping sensation in his stomach – a feeling he had grown accustomed to feeling whenever Cho was around. He swallowed convulsively, but she didn't seem to notice and the feeling soon disappeared anyway.

"They like each other, don't they?" Ahsoka asked after a moment of silence. "Ron and Hermione, I mean."

Harry smiled slightly, and glanced over at Hermione while pulling books out of his bag. "No idea." He muttered, and saw Ahsoka roll her eyes out the corner of his eye and turn back to her books.

The thing was, she was right. Although they often fought, they _did_ like each other. He wasn't sure if it was _like_ like, or how strong their feelings were, but he was sure they were there all the same.

* * *

><p>Neither Harry nor Ron made much head-way with their homework that night, and Ahsoka soon moved off to sit with Anakin and Rex who had arrived a couple of hours later and collapsed into two comfy armchairs not far from where they were sitting. Harry knew that Ron was preoccupied about the disastrous Quidditch match and he himself was having difficulty getting the 'Gryffindor are losers' chant out of his head.<p>

They spent the whole of Sunday in the common room, buried in their books, and only talking a little – like when explaining the rules of Quidditch to Ahsoka while finishing their Bowtruckle drawings for Professor Grubbly-Plank. It was a beautiful day outside – probably one of the last for a long time – and most of the students spent the day outside, soaking up what could possible be the last rays of sunshine of the year, and Harry itched to go out and join them. By evening, Harry felt as though someone had been battering his brain against his skull.

"We should probably try and get more homework done during the week," Harry mumbled, setting aside a nasty essay for Snape and getting to work on one for Professor Sinistra.

"Yeah," Ron agreed tiredly. "Do you reckon Hermione would let us see hers?"

Harry glanced over to where Hermione sat once again talking with Ginny, and sighed. "No," He said glumly. "You know she won't let us."

Around half eleven, Hermione came over with Ahsoka.

"Nearly done?" She asked, yawning while Ahsoka sat down and curled up like a cat in an armchair near the fire, resting her head on the arm rest and watching them through her abnormally large clear blue eyes.

"Not even close." Ron snapped.

Hermione pointed out some mistakes to him, telling him the correct answers, and he snarled a response at her.

"I haven't got time to listen to a sermon, Hermione! I'm about up to my neck in it here – "

"No – look!" She said, pointing out the window,

They all looked over, including Anakin and Rex, who had come over to join them. A handsome screech owl was perched outside on the ledge, gazing into the room at Ron.

"Isn't that Hermes?" said Hermione, sounding amazed.

"Blimey, it is!" Ron said, striding over and yanking open the window, and Hermes flew inside, landing on Ron's essay and sticking out his leg, which had a letter attached to it. "What's Percy writing to me for?"

"Who's Percy?" Ahsoka chirped curiously from her position in the chair next to Harry while Ron read the letter in his hands, his eyes narrowing in disgust the further he got down the page.

"Ron's third oldest brother," Harry told her absently, watching Ron read the letter, looking more and more disgruntled.

When he was finished, he thrust the letter at Harry in disgust and the others all read over his shoulders:

_Dear Ron,_

_I have recently heard (from no less a person than the Minister for Magic himself, who has it from your new teacher, Professor Umbridge) that you have become a Hogwarts prefect._

_I was most pleasantly surprised when I heard this news and must firstly offer my congratulations. I must admit that I have always been afraid that you would take what we might call the 'Fred and George' route, rather than following in my footsteps, so you can imagine my feelings on hearing that you have stopped flouting authority and have decided to shoulder some real responsibility._

_But I want to give you more than congratulations, Ron; I want to give you some advice, which is why I am sending this at night instead of with the usual morning post. Hopefully, you will be able to read this away from prying eyes and avoid awkward questions._

_From something the Minister let slip when telling me you are now a prefect, I gather that you are still seeing a lot of Harry Potter. I must tell you, Ron, that nothing could put you in danger of losing your badge more than continued fraternisation with that boy. Yes, I am sure you are surprised to hear this – no doubt you will say that Potter has always been Dumbledore's favourite – but I feel bound to tell you that Dumbledore may not be in charge at Hogwarts and the people who count have a very different – and probably more accurate – view of Potter's behaviour. I will say no more here, but if you look at the _Daily Prophet_ tomorrow you will get a good idea of the way the wind is blowing – and see if you can spot yours truly!_

_Seriously, Ron, you do not want to be tarred with the same brush as Potter, t could be very damaging to your future prospects, and am talking here about life after school, too. As you must be aware, given that our father escorted him to court, Potter had a disciplinary hearing this summer in front of the whole Wizengamot and he did not come out of it looking too good. He got off on a mere technicality, if you ask me, and many of the people I've spoken to remain convinced of his guilt. _

_It may be that you are afraid to severe ties with Potter – I know he can be unbalanced and, for all I know, violent – but if you have any worries about this, or have spotted anything else in Potter's behaviour that is troubling you, I urge you to speak to Dolores Umbridge, a truly delightful woman who I know would be only too happy to advise you._

_This leads me to my second piece of advice. As I have hinted above, Dumbledore's regime at Hogwarts may soon be over. Your loyalty, Ron, should not be to him, but to the school and the Ministry. I am very sorry to hear that, so far, Professor Umbridge has encountered very little co-operation from staff as she strives to make those necessary changes within Hogwarts that the Ministry so ardently desires (although she should find this easier as of next week – again, see the _Daily Prophet_ tomorrow!). I shall say only this: a student who shows himself wiling to help Professor Umbridge now may be well-placed for Head Boyship in a couple of years!_

_I am sorry that I was unable to see more of you over the summer. It pains me to criticise out parents, but I am afraid I can no longer live under their roof while they remain mixed up with the dangerous crowd around Dumbledore. (If you are writing to Mother at any point, you might tell her that a certain Sturgis Podmore, who is a great friend of Dumbledore's, has recently been sent to Azkaban for trespass at the Ministry. Perhaps that will open their eyes to the kind of petty criminals with whom they are currently rubbing shoulders.) I count myself very lucky to have escaped the stigma of association with such people – the Minister really could really not be more gracious to me – and I do hope, Ron, that you will not allow family ties to blind you to the misguided nature of our parents' beliefs and actions, either. I sincerely hope that, in time, they will realise how mistaken they were and I shall, of course, be ready to accept a full apology when that day comes._

_But I want to give you one final piece of advice, Ron. I have recently heard that three new people have come to Hogwarts. From what I can gather, the girl isn't even human! Merely a look-a-like! Professor Umbridge informs me that this girl has been placed in the same year and house as you, and I urge you to keep your distance! Whatever Dumbledore is up to, I hardly think that these people are there for 'extra security' like he is pretending. These people are _dangerous_, Ron. Possibly even more so than those others whom I mentioned earlier. The Ministry of Magic has no record of such people even existing! They must be there under _false identities_. I beg of you Ron, _please_ keep your distance. They are like Potter: disturbed and association with them may lead you to lose your badge. Do not get close to them, for your own safety and reputation. We will, of course, get to the bottom of whatever scam Dumbledore – and for all we know, Potter! – are currently cooking up, and we shall drive them out of the castle. Do not worry._

_Please think over what I have said most carefully, particularly the bit about Harry Potter and these strangers, and congratulations again on becoming a prefect._

_Your brother,_

_Percy_

Harry looked up at Ron.

"Well," He began, attempting to sound like it was all a joke, "If you want to –er – what is it?" He quickly checked the letter, "Oh yeah, 'severe ties' with me, I promise I wont get violent. And I promise that I know nothing about any conspiracies." He added, attempting a grin, and failing miserably. Luckily, Ron didn't notice as he held his hand out for the letter again.

"Give it back. He is –" Ron said jerkily while tearing the letter in half. "The worlds –" He tore it in quarters. "Biggest –" He tore it into eighths. "Git!" He thrust the torn letter into the fire.

"Come on, we have to get these finished before dawn." He said briskly to Harry, pulling Professor Sinistras' essay towards him while the other all took their seats once again.

Hermione watched him, then exclaimed: "Oh, give them here."

"What?" He asked.

"Give them here, and I'll look over them and correct any mistakes."

"You're a life saver, Hermione," Ron said, handing her his essay along with Harry's which he pulled from under his hand and sank back down in a more comfortable position in the armchair. "If I'm ever rude to you again…"

"I'll know that you're back to normal." She said smiling.

Ahsoka caught Harry's eye, and winked. He grimaced, but couldn't help but notice something off in her eyes.

"What?" He asked her.

"The filthy _slemo_!" She suddenly burst out, and everyone turned to look at her. It was well past midnight by now, and they had the common room to themselves.

"Eh…Ahsoka?" Ron asked uncertainly, Percy's warning that she was dangerous flashing through his mind before he quickly dispelled it.

"He is so rude!" She ranted, and Harry saw Anakins' lips twitch in amusement, like he was fighting off a smile. Rex too looked like he was going to laugh. "Master," The smile was wiped off Anakins' face quickly as she whipped round to face him. "If I ever meet Percy Weasley, will I be in trouble when I punch him?"

Anakin chuckled slightly. He couldn't help it. "Yes, Ahsoka. You will."

"But _why_?" She asked, aghast. "_You_ punch people all the time, and you _never _get in trouble for it!"

Anakin snorted. "As far as you know." He muttered. "Besides, I never said it was me you'd be in trouble with. I don't see the Council letting you off for punching a civilian, somehow. Umbridge was different," He added quickly, seeing her about to interrupt. "Not much, but she was. She's here at Hogwarts, and, no matter how much trouble I get in from them for telling you this, she is the enemy. But no more punching." He told her.

Her face – which had lit up when he had said that Umbridge was the enemy – fell drastically. "But _why_?"

"If I'm not allowed to punch anyone, Snips, then neither are you."

She sighed. "Fine. But it's not like you ever follow orders anyway."

Anakin rolled his eyes, but didn't comment.

"So, what did he mean about you lot being dangerous?" Ron asked them, while Hermione crossed out offending sentences in his homework. "That's not true, right?"

"Of course we're dangerous, Ron!" Ahsoka exclaimed, exasperated. "We're bloody soldiers, aren't we? We spend half our lives either shooting or getting shot at! I'd call that pretty dangerous."

Ron swallowed, and she smirked.

"Don't worry, we wont hurt you. We'll restrain our killer instincts."

"You have no killer instinct." Anakin muttered, and she scowled at him.

"At least_ I_ don't get shot at _everywhere_ I go, unlike some people I could mention." She gazed at him pointedly, but he just shrugged.

"Everywhere?" Harry asked, amazed.

Anakin shrugged again. "Pretty much." He grinned at the shocked look on Harry's face. "I'm not exactly popular with the Seppies."

Harry turned away, and stared deep into the fire, his thoughts on the letter that was now black and curling in the flames.

He knew that half the population of Hogwarts thought he was strange, even mad, and he knew that the _Daily Prophet_ had been printing false stories about him for months, but there was something about seeing it on paper in Percy's handwriting that made it more real to him somehow. He had known Percy for four years, had stayed at his house during holidays, had been awarded full marks by him in the second task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament the year before, and had shared a tent with him at the Quidditch World Cup, yet now Percy thought he was unbalanced and possibly violent. With a surge of sympathy for his godfather, Harry thought that he was probably the only one who could really understand how Sirius felt having the whole wizarding world believing him to be some deranged mass-murderer.

Harry blinked, staring at the fire…for a split second he thought he saw…but, no. It was impossible…he had only seen it because he had been thinking about Sirius…

Hermione handed back their essays. "Ron, rewrite these lines and add this conclusion that I've written for you. Harry, yours was OK, except for this part. I think you must have misheard Professor Sinistra: it's covered in _ice_, not mice. Harry?" She asked.

Ron looked round at Harry, who was now crouching in front of the fireplace.

"Um, why are you down there, mate?" He asked hesitantly.

"Because I've just seen Sirius head in the fire." Harry replied, perfectly calmly.

"Sirius _head_?" Hermione asked, incredulous. "Harry, even Sirius wouldn't…_Sirius_!"

For Sirius head did indeed sit there in the fire, grinning up at them all through a tangle of matted hair.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry again for the delay, but I've been busy. Anyway, plz leave me some reviews and I'll hopefully update sooner next time. <strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for the reviews, and no, I don't have a beta: it just took me a while to get into the 'flow' of this storyline if you like. Anyway, I was planning on a fight, so Grievous or Dooku will probably make an appearance at some point. Maybe even Ventress. **

**Anyway, on to the next chapter…**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four<strong>

Sirius had been popping in and out of the fire every hour. Once he may have been spotted, but he was gone as soon as the young first-year girl looked back at him. Luckily he knew who Anakin was by reputation, and knew that it was safe to speak in front of him and – assumedly – the others. Once introductions were done, Sirius moved onto the topic of Harrys letter, which Ron, Hermione and Ahsoka didn't have a clue about. Anakin and Rex were strangely quiet, and Harry had the sneaking suspicion that they had known. Well, he supposed he shouldn't be surprised: they were there for security, after all. It made sense that they knew what mail was sent out and even what mail was received.

"I know it can't be much fun when your scar hurts, Harry, but Dumbledore seems to think that it will happen more often now that Voldemort has returned to power." Sirius informed them all after Hermione had shushed Rons' questions about it, telling him that they'd fill him in later.

"You don't think it had anything to do with Umbridge touching me then?" Harry asked anxiously.

"No, Harry, I don't. I know her by reputation, and she's no Death Eater."

"She's foul enough to be one," Ahsoka said darkly.

Sirius smiled up out of the fire at her. "The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters, young one, as you should know." He said, chuckling slightly as she blushed and looked away. She was still slightly pissed off at Percy Weasley for his words of slander against her. And her Master and the Captain that she served alongside. But he really did seem to have something against part humans.

Sirius was still talking, explaining how it was Umbridge who loathed part humans, and how she had campaigned to have merepeople rounded up and tagged the year before. Even she admitted that that was a pretty stupid thing to do, as foul a mood as she was in at the time.

Sirius said that no one in the Order knew where Hagrid was, but that they shouldn't worry because no news was good news. Even if it did make everyone slightly uneasy at his extended leave of absence.

He got on well with Anakin and Rex, and even Ahsoka when she surfaced from her dark, brooding thoughts.

Eventually Anakin seemed to get irritated with her, and lashed a hard kick into the leg of her chair, jolting both the chair and Ahsoka forward with the force of it, effectively pulling her from her thoughts as she looked first shocked, then grinned at her master.

"You need a workout." She declared, but he just grunted. She gave him puppy-dog eyes. "_Please_, Master? I could use one too."

Anakin looked at her, and she instantly got rid of the puppy-dog eyes look, but grinned back when he smiled at her. He had a nice smile, Hermione noticed with a faint pang of guilt. But really, she couldn't help if she had a teeny crush on a married man, could she? Not like she was going to let anyone know, anyway.

"I guess we do. Tomorrow, maybe."

"Wait, what's a workout?" Ron asked curiously.

Anakin's smile became a grin as his eyes glittered, his pulse racing with the remembered adrenaline of countless gruelling workouts with his former Master and even current Padawan. "Training," He explained. "With a Lightsaber, usually."

"What's a Lightsaber?" Hermione asked. Sirius had disappeared back into the fire about five minutes before, and they had all been about to go to bed when Anakin had kicked Ahsoka's chair.

"It's like a sword, but made out of energy, powered by a crystal that can only be found in certain remote places in the Galaxy," Ahsoka explained. "It's a Jedi weapon. It's their life, but also their responsibility."

Anakin's lips twitched. "I see you've actually listened to something I've taught you."

"Nope," She grinned. "Master Kenobi told me that."

Anakin rolled his eyes.

* * *

><p>The next morning at breakfast Anakin seemed to be expecting something.<p>

When the usual morning post arrived, he looked up, his eyes scanning the mass of owls for seemingly one in particular.

A large, handsome tawny carrying an even larger brown paper wrapped parcel soared over to them, landing in front of him and sticking out its leg.

Grinning, Anakin leaned over and, using a knife that he had pulled from his boot, severed the rope binding the package to it. As soon as it was free, the owl took off again, brushing Rons' head with the tip of its wing as it did so.

Ahsoka raised her eyebrows at Anakin. "Why do you have a knife?" She demanded.

"Because I do." He replied helpfully; now busy severing the thick ropes that held the package closed.

She rolled her eyes. "Some answer,"

It was Anakins' turn to roll his eyes. "The Council said I could. And beside, it's a good weapon – useful for more than one thing."

"So there's stabbing, slicing and severing ropes," She said, ticking them off on her fingers. "Anything else?"

"Throwing," He said, not really paying attention as he was now pulling aside the paper surrounding a cardboard box, grunting in frustration as he slit along yet another seal at the top of the box.

She looked surprised. "I didn't know you could throw knives!"

He glanced up and shot her a grin. "Tantooine, remember?"

"Right," She mumbled, studying her master intently. "You would have made a good criminal," She suddenly blurted, and Anakin chuckled.

"Everyone knew how to defend themselves, Snips. It's a dangerous place. Besides, not that different from throwing a Lightsaber."

"Apart from the fact that Lightsabers are really long and knives aren't." She added sarcastically, but he ignored her.

Anakin pulled back the flaps of the cardboard box, and withdrew a long, thin tube with some kind of liquid in it, which he handed to Harry.

"Erm, _what_?" Harry asked, confusion clouding his features as he looked down at the tube in his hands.

Anakin smiled slightly. "For your hand. It might sting a little when you first rub it on, but once you've rubbed it right in it should get to work healing that." He nodded at the words _I must not tell lies_ that were still etched onto the back of Harrys' hand from his last detention with Umbridge on Friday night.

Curious, Harry squirted some of the strange jelly-like substance onto the back of his hand, wincing slightly at the dull sting, though thee coolness of the substance soon reduced that.

Now grinning slightly at the soothing sensation coming over the skin of his hand, he gently rubbed the liquid in until he couldn't see nor feel it anymore, though the soothing feeling still remained.

"What is this stuff?" He asked wonderingly.

"Bacta." Anakin replied, now pulling out an electronic device with a large touch screen. "It works wonders on all kinds of wounds. Heals them quickly, if not completely then mostly. It rarely leaves a scar, but since that cut's magical, I'm not sure it won't."

"And what's that?" He nodded at the strange electronic device.

"A data-pad. I can get all the latest new on the war and stuff like that." Anakin paused for a moment, and glanced over at Hermione, was staring horror-struck at the front page of the _Daily Prophet_. "A bit like a newspaper, I suppose. Or the Internet, though it's the holo-net where we come from. What's up anyway, Hermione?"

"Look at this!" She exclaimed, seeming to come out of a stunned trance and flattening the newspaper on the table so that they could all read the headline and following article:-

_MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM_

_DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED  
>FIRST EVER HIGH INQUISITOR<em>

"Umbridge – 'High Inquisitor'?" Said Harry darkly. "What does _that_ mean?"

Hermione read the article aloud for them all to hear:

"_In a surprise move last night the Ministry of Magic passed a new legislation giving itself an unprecedented level of control at Hogwarts._

" '_The Ministry has bee growing uneasy about goings-on at Hogwarts for some time.' Says Percy Weasley, Junior Assistant to the Minister –"_

"Git," Ahsoka muttered under her breath, and, even though his mood was deteriorating rapidly as the article went on, Harry felt the corners of his lips twitch up into a brief smile before Hermione continued once more.

"– _Junior Assistant to the Minister. 'He is now responding to concerns voiced by anxious parents who feel the school may be moving in a direction the do not approve of.'"_

"Well then, maybe they should suck it up and deal," Ahsoka once again interrupted in a growl. It was clear that she had strong feelings about this; something that the Jedi Code forbid, but she knew her master wouldn't rat her out on. After all, he would be a hypocrite if he did.

"_This is not the first time in recent weeks that the Minister, Cornelius Fudge –"_

"Isn't that a kind of sweet?" Ahsoka asked, slightly surprised and momentarily thrown from her train of thought. Everyone just ignored her this time and concentrated on the newspaper article.

"– _Cornelius Fudge, has used new laws to effect improvements at the Wizarding school._

"_As recently as 30th August, Educational Decree Number Twenty-Two was passed to ensure that, in the event of the current Headmaster being unable to provide a candidate for a teaching post, the Ministry should select an appropriate person. _

" '_That's how Dolores Umbridge came to be appointed to the teaching staff at Hogwarts,' Said Weasley last night. 'Dumbledore couldn't find anyone so the Minister put in Umbridge, and of course, she's been an immediate success –'"_

"She's been a WHAT?" It was Harry's turn to interrupt loudly.

"Wait, there's more," Said Hermione grimly.

"'– _an immediate success, totally revolutionising the teaching of Defence Against the Dark Arts and providing the Minister with on-the-ground feedback about what's really happening at Hogwarts.'_

"_It is this last function that the Ministry has now formalised with the passing of Educational Decree Number Twenty-Three, which creates the new position of Hogwarts High Inquisitor. _

"'_This is an exciting new phase in the Ministers plan to get to grips with what some are calling the _falling standards_ at Hogwarts –"_

"Oh yeah? And what about the _falling standards_ at the Ministry?" Rex said darkly. "Not so quick to mention how corrupt _they_ are, are they."

Hermione continued once more:

" – _at Hogwarts.' Said Weasley. 'The Inquisitor will have powers to inspect her fellow educators and make sure they are up to scratch. Professor Umbridge has been offered this position in addition to her own teaching post and we are delighted to say that she has accepted.'_

"_The Ministry's new moves have received enthusiastic support from parents of students at Hogwarts._

" '_I feel much easier in my mind now that I know Dumbledore is being subjected to fair and objective evaluation,' Said Mr Lucius Malfoy, 41, speaking from his Wiltshire mansion last night. 'Many of us have been concerned about some of Dumbledore's eccentric decisions in the last few years and are glad to know that the Ministry is keeping an eye on the situation.'"_

Once again, Hermione was interrupted by Rex.

"How come this Lucius Malfoy bloke knew about the Decree before it had even been announced?"

"He's in deep with the Ministry." Anakin replied, still watching Hermione with a slight frown on his face. "And he's a Death Eater." He added as an after thought, and Ahsoka – who had been taking a large gulp of Pumpkin juice at the time – spat it out in surprise and shock.

"_Among those _eccentric decisions_ are undoubtedly the controversial staff appointments previously described in this newspaper, which have included the employment of werewolf Remus Lupin, half-giant Rubeus Hagrid and ex-Auror 'Mad-Eye' Moody –"_

Aren't they in the Order?" Ahsoka asked quietly, and Hermione nodded before continuing.

"_Rumours abound, of course, that Albus Dumbledore, once Supreme Mugwump –"_ Ahsoka snickered slightly at the name. _"– of the International Confederation of Wizards and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. Is no longer up to the task of managing the prestigious school of Hogwarts._

" '_I think that the appointment of the Inquisitor is the first step towards ensuring that Hogwarts has a headmaster in whom we can all repose out confidence,' Said a Ministry inside last night._

"_Wizengamot elders Griselda Marchbanks and Tiberius Ogden have resigned in protest at the introduction of the Inquisitor to Hogwarts. _

" '_Hogwarts is a school, not an outpost of Cornelius Fudge's office,' said Madam Marchbanks. 'This is a further disgusting attempt to discredit Albus Dumbledore.'_

"_(For a full account of Madam Marchbank's alleged links to subversive goblin groups, turn to page seventeen)."_

Hermione finished reading and looked round at the other five.

"So now we know how we ended up with Umbridge! Fudge passed this 'Educational Decree' and forced her on us! And now he's gone and given her power to inspect other teachers!" Hermione was breathing fast and her eyes were very bright. "I can' believe this. It's _outrageous_!"

"I know it is," Harry replied, and he looked down at his clenched right hand, seeing the cuts that were slowly healing thanks to the bacta that Anakin had given him.

"Why do so many people in the Wizarding world have such weird names?" Ahsoka mused. "I mean, _Tiberius Ogden_ and _Griselda Marchbanks_ and even _Cornelius Fudge_. What's with that, anyway?"

Anakin raised an eyebrow at her. "Seriously? _That's_ what you're worrying about? And have you heard some of the names back home? They're not exactly common or normal, either."

"Name one." She shot back.

"Mace Windu," Ahsoka opened her mouth, and then closed it again. "Ki-Ai Mundi. Saesee Tiin. Hell, even _Yoda_."

"Alright, alright! I get the point." Ahsoka grumbled. A strange light suddenly lit up her eyes. "Now name one that _isn't_ a Jedi."

"Sola. Jobal. Ruwee. Riyo. Pooja. Shmi. Kitster. Seek. Bail Organa. Jar Jar Binks."

Ahsoka scowled at him, defeated.

A grin was unfurling across Ron's face, and not because of their conversation.

"What?" Harry and Hermione asked him at the same time.

"Oh, I can't _wait_ to see McGonagall inspected." Ron said happily. "Umbridge won't know what's hit her."

"Well then, come on!" Hermione said, jumping from her seat and snatching up her school bag. "If she's inspecting Binns's class we don't want to be late…"

"Oh, relax Hermione," Said Ron, swallowing a large mouthful of toast. "We've still got half an hour max. until the lesson actually starts."

Hermione scowled, but dropped back down into her seat again.

Harry turned his attention back to Anakin, who was bent over the data-pad that had arrived with the bacta.

"What are you doing?" He asked curiously, his anger with Umbridge momentarily forgotten.

"Accessing the Republic's Secure Channel." Anakin replied. "This way I can get the encoded information that they don't want the Seppies to get their hands on."

"If you can get it, how do you know they can't?"

"I have clearance because I'm a General and a Jedi. It's how they normally send us the details of our next mission. I just need to input a few more codes and I'll be through."

They were all silent for a few moments before a grin spread across his face.

"I'm in."

Ahsoka leaned over his shoulder to see what he was doing. She too was smiling at the thought of finding out what was going on back home.

"Right, headlines first, I guess," Anakin muttered, his hand flying over the screen, skilfully navigating his way through the endless labyrinth of information.

"What does it say?" Rex asked, biting into yet another slice of toast. He could give Ron a run for his money if it came down to who could eat the most, Hermione thought wryly.

Anakin read aloud from the list that he now had in front of him. " '_Senate Scandal!' _Well, what's new? _'Republic Outpost Manned By…_Droids_?'_"

"Anything to make us look bad," Rex said, rolling his eyes.

" '_Death Watch: Returned?'_"

"Could be interesting," Ahsoka said. "What else?"

" '_The Negotiator: Missing In Action!'_"

"Wait, _WHAT_?" Ahsoka spluttered, once more choking on a gulp of her juice. She really did take a drink at the worst possible moments.

Anakin quickly brought up the article in question, a slight frown on his face as he did so.

"Who is this 'Negotiator'?" Ron asked curiously.

"My old master," Anakin replied. "Here it is," And he began to read aloud:

"_Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, a General in the Clone Wars and deemed '_The Negotiator_' for his habit of negotiating a peaceful solution without too much fighting has not been reported to be out on the battlefield since his usual partner, Anakin Skywalker, left to go on a top secret mission. _

"_Our intelligence says that he was accompanied only by his young Padawan learner and the Captain of his clone squadron, the famed 501st battalion. _

"_Known widely as '_The Hero With No Fear_', General Skywalker is more of a fighter than Kenobi, and has pulled off numerous death-defying stunts previously described in this news report, that, while often seeming incredibly reckless and dangerous, have undoubtedly saved many lives._

"_The Jedi Council has refused to give us any information on where either Kenobi or Skywalker are, but we are told that they are not on a known mission. No-one has seen the famous Negotiator leave Coruscant since Skywalkers' departure, and there is no sight of him at the Jedi Temple. _

"_Has this fine soldier finally become corrupt and is selling vital information to Separatist Spies? Or is he perhaps seriously wounded and being treated in a secure medical centre in the far reaches of the Galaxy without anyone realising? _

"_Or have the Dynamic Duo gone behind their superior's backs and are working on a covert new weapon or strategic battle plans? With their skills anything is possible._

"Or maybe he's just on leave," Anakin said before staring at the data-pad and article displayed on the screen, seemingly speechless with disbelief.

Ahsoka was the first to break the stunned silence. "What a load of bull-shit."

"Language," Anakin said vaguely, not really paying attention, and she snorted.

"Like you don't swear once or twenty times a day," She replied. Anakin just ignored her.

"Some article," Rex said, grinning. "They really seem to love you."

Anakin grimaced at him.

"Yeah, you put one foot out of line and _BAM_! I can see the headlines now: _Scandal! Republic Poster Boy Caught Helping A Separatist!_" Ahsoka teased, and Anakin scowled.

"Hey, I break rules all the time, and there has never been a headline like that," He paused for a moment. "And I had better not just have jinxed that."

"Imagine if it did actually happen," Rex chortled. "The Press would have a field-day!"

* * *

><p>Harry had been given another weeks worth of detentions from Umbridge. The cut on the back of his hand had been almost healed before it was pumping blood once again.<p>

On the second night of detention, Harry was surprised to see that Ron, Hermione and Ahsoka had stayed up waiting for him in the common room, even though it was once again well past midnight.

Hermione passed him over a bowl of yellow liquid. "Here, soak your hand in that. It's a solution of strained and pickled Murtlap tentacles, and Anakin gave me some more of that bacta to mix in with it."

"Thanks," He said gratefully, floating his hand in the small bowl as the soothing, wonderful feeling of pain relief overcame him.

"I still reckon you should complain about this," Ron said in a low voice.

"No," Harry replied flatly.

"Ron's right, Harry; McGonagall would go nuts if she knew –" Ahsoka began, but Harry cut her off.

"Yeah, she probably would. And how long do you think it would take Umbridge to force through another decree saying whoever complains about the High Inquisitor gets sacked immediately?"

Ron opened his mouth to retort but nothing came out, so he closed it again, defeated.

"She's an awful woman," Hermione said in a small voice. "_Awful_. You know, I was just saying when you came in…we've got to do something about her."

"I suggested poison," Ron said grimly.

"You know," Ahsoka began thoughtfully. "That's not a bad idea. Maybe not poison, but some form of assassination…yeah!"

Hermione shot her a look that was half exasperated, half slightly amused. "No…I meant something about how dreadful a teacher she is and how we're not going to learn any Defence Against the Dark Arts at all from her. And no bodily harm." She added, looking pointedly at Ahsoka, who slumped back down in her chair.

"What can we do about it, though?" Ron asked, yawning hugely. "She's got the job; she's here to stay, Fudge'll make sure of that."

Ahsoka cast him a disbelieving look. "You're really ready to give up that easily?"

He looked momentarily surprised. "No! I mean, there isn't much we _can_ do now, is there?"

"Well," Hermione began tentatively, "You see, I was thinking earlier…well," She cast Harry a slightly nervous look, then ploughed on. "I was thinking that – maybe we should just…do it ourselves."

"Do what ourselves?" He asked suspiciously, still floating his hand in the essence of Murtlap tentacles and bacta.

"Um…well, learn Defence Against the Dark Arts ourselves."

"Oh, come off it," Ron groaned. "You want us to do _more_ work? Me and Harry are behind on homework _again_, and it's only the second week!"

"But thins is so much more important than homework!" She cried.

The boys goggled at her. Ahsoka just looked mildly amused.

"I didn't think there was anything more important than homework!" Ron said, stunned.

"Of course there is," Hermione snapped and Harry saw, with an ominous feeling, that her eyes were lit up with that strange eagerness she got when elaborating on far fetched schemes like SPEW. "This is about preparing ourselves for what's out there, like Harry said in Umbridges' first lesson, and _she's _certainly not going to help us. We need to know how to defend ourselves, and if we're not going to learn that for a whole year…"

"We can't do much by ourselves," Ron pointed out in a defeated tone. "I suppose we could look up jinxes in the library and go practice them, but we couldn't really do that often…"

"No, I agree," Hermione began. "We've gone past the stage where we can just learn spells out of books."

"You could try learning Practical Defence," Ahsoka suggested. "You know, without wands or magic."

Ron's eyes lit up. "Yeah! That could be fun!"

Hermione shot him an exasperated look. "It's not about whether it's fun or not, Ron! We need a teacher, anyway, one who can show us how to do the spells and correct us if we're wrong."

"If you're talking about Lupin –" Harry began, but Hermione interrupted.

"No, I'm not talking about Lupin. The most we could see him would be at Hogsmede weekends, and that's not nearly often enough."

"Who then?" Harry asked, frowning at her.

"Isn't it obvious?" She asked with a deep sigh. "I'm talking about _you_."

There was a moments silence in which the portrait hole opened and Anakin and Rex silently joined them.

"About me what?" Harry asked.

"I'm talking about _you_ teaching us Defence Against the Dark Arts."

For a second Harry stared at her, then he turned to Ron, ready to share the exasperated look they sometimes did when she elaborated on some far-fetched scheme or other. But to his surprise, Ron was looking thoughtful, and not doubtful like he'd hoped.

"That's an idea," He said slowly.

"What's an idea?"

"You," Ron said. "Teaching us to do it."

"But…" Harry was grinning now, sure that they were pulling his leg. "I'm not a teacher. I can't –"

"Harry, you're the best in our year at Defence Against the Dar Arts, everyone knows it." Said Hermione flatly.

"No, I'm not! You've beaten me in every test –"

"Actually, I haven't." She said coolly. "You beat me in third year, the only year we sat the test and had a teacher who knew what he was doing. But I'm not talking about test results, Harry! Think what you've _done_!"

"How d'you mean?"

Ahsoka turned to Hermione. "You know, I'm not sure I want someone this thick teaching me." She said with a slight smirk, and Ron grinned.

"Let's think;" He turned to Harry, pulling a face like Goyle concentrating. "Uh, first year: you saved the Philosophers Stone from You-Know-Who."

"But that was luck! It wasn't skill –" Said Harry.

"Second year:" Ron interrupted. "You killed the Basilisk ad destroyed Riddle.

"Yeah, but if Fawkes hadn't turned up I –"

"Third year:" He interrupted again, louder still. "You fought off about a hundred Dementors at once."

"You know that was a fluke. If the Time-Turner hadn't –"

"Last year:" Ron was almost shouting now. "You fought off You-Know-Who _again_."

"Listen to me!" Harry said, almost angrily because Ron, Hermione and Ahsoka were all smirking at him now. Anakin and Rex were staying strangely quiet. "Just listen, alright? Yeah, it all sounds great when you say it like that, but it was all luck. I didn't know what I was doing half the time, I didn't plan any of it, I just did whatever I could think of, and I nearly always had help –"

They were still smirking at him, and Anakin, who could see that Harry was about to tip over the edge and start yelling, spoke up at last.

"Harry, fighting is always like that." He said quietly, but drawing everyone's attention to him. "You can't predict what your enemy is going to do, and you can't plan what moves you're going to have to use. You only have your head and your gut instinct. If you lose those…well, you're pretty much screwed.

"But that's what they're trying to say. You have good instincts, and your head's screwed on the right way. It doesn't matter how you do it, it's the end result that matters. Well," He amended slightly. "I suppose it _does_ matter slightly if you don't want to get in a shit-load of trouble for breaking all the rules, but the principle still stands."

"Harry," Hermione said timidly. "Don't you see? This is exactly why we need you to teach us. It's like Anakin said; you're good at fighting because you have good instincts. And we need to know what it's really like…facing him…facing V-Voldemort."

It was the first time she had ever said Voldemorts name and it was this more than anything that calmed Harry down. Still breathing heavily, he sank back down in his chair, realising as he did so that he had smashed the bowl of Murtlap tentacles when he had leapt to his feet and that his hand was throbbing horribly again.

"Well…think about it." She said quietly. "Please?"

Harry nodded, hardly aware of what he was agreeing to.

* * *

><p>Anakin and Ahsoka didn't get the chance to train until the following Saturday, when they both had a whole day free of work.<p>

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Rex joined them after breakfast as they headed down to the Quidditch Pitch – a good, secluded place to train without too many prying eyes to spot them. Not that Anakin seemed to care if they were spotted. It would be funny if someone went running to Umbridge.

Harry and Ron brought out their brooms and Rex joined them in the skies on one he had borrowed from the school, wobbling around precariously on the unfamiliar mode of transport while Hermione brought out some of her homework and sat high in the stands with a book.

As Harry kicked off he saw Anakin hand Ahsoka a strange, metal, cylindrical object. She grinned and ignited it. A long blue blade of humming green energy suddenly lit up her face in an eerie green glow, as Anakin ignited a similar blue one.

This must be the Lightsabers they had mentioned the week previously.

Ahsoka grinned at Anakin. "Ready for a humiliating defeat at the hands of your humble Padawan?"

Anakin snorted. "You wish."

And they were off.

Up in the skies Harry, Ron and Rex froze where they were passing a quaffle back and forth – Ron had only dropped it once, so far! – to stare down at the two sparer's below. Even Hermione looked up from her book, watching as Anakin began to move his blade faster and faster so that it was a blur, making his swings narrower and narrower until he locked his blade near the hilt of hers and twisted, sending the Lightsaber spinning out of her hands, catching it easily before sweeping her feet out from under her by locking his knee around hers and shifting his weight slightly.

"How was your humiliating defeat at the e hands of your master, my not so humble Padawan?" Anakin teased, and Ahsoka scowled up at him from where she had thudded to the ground, accepting the hand he offered and allowing him to help pull her back to her feet.

"You have got to teach me how to do that," Ahsoka said as Anakin handed her back her Lightsaber.

"Teach you what?" He asked, grinning at her.

"How you got me down on the ground," She replied, her eyes bright and shining as adrenaline coursed through her body, her blood hammering through her veins. "I've seen you do it before, on the battlefield. It would be good to know how to as well."

Anakin chuckled. "Sure thing, Snips. Just don't tell Obi-Wan it was me that taught you. He'd kill me if he knew."

Ahsoka laughed and got to work learning the new move.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later Harry, Ron and Rex had joined them while Hermione sat on the sidelines, watching, slightly amused, as Anakin taught Harry and Ron the move as well while Ahsoka practiced on Rex.<p>

They all heard the strangled yell, and turned to see Rex flat on his back on the hard ground, a triumphant Ahsoka standing grinning over him.

"I did it!" She exclaimed, grinning over at her master, who smiled back.

"Good. Now try again." She nodded, and helped Rex back to his feet, only to lock her knee round his and shift her weight, sending him tumbling to the ground with a groan once more. There was something highly amusing about watching a grown man floored by a teenage girl. Albeit a Jedi girl.

Harry and Ron had not fared so well. Anakin had them practicing on each other, and so far all that they'd managed was to fall in a heap on the ground several times, the most memorable of which was when Ron accidentally overbalanced and dragged Harry down with him. Anakin shook his head; this might take a while.

* * *

><p>An hour later they had all managed it – maybe not as well as Anakin could do it, but then he had been doing it for years, Even Hermione had eventually joined in.<p>

Exhausted and sore from the training session, they dragged themselves back up to the castle for lunch before going back out and watching the Gryffindor teams Quidditch practice. It was marginally better than previous ones, but Ron still slopped back up to the common room in a thoroughly bad mood at the end of it.

* * *

><p><strong>How was it? I know the article about Obi-Wan wasn't very good, but I just wanted to write <em>something<em>. It was pretty much all I could think of.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed it and I'll update again as soon as I can. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own either Harry Potter or Star Wars. **

**Chapter Five**

Hermione had arranged for a 'couple' of people to meet them in Hogsmede the next weekend.

Harry, who was already worried about the possibility that Sirius might come to Hogsmede despite all their warnings, was now positively alarmed and shaky when he thought about the coming trip.

On the plus side, Anakin, Rex and Ahsoka would be coming with them, and Anakin had said that there would be someone there to meet them. Ahsoka had pestered him endlessly, yet he still wouldn't tell her who it was.

The morning of the Hogsmede visit dawned bright, but windy. When Harry reached Filch – who was ticking their names off on a piece of parchment – the squib gave a great sniff as if trying to detect something off him, then gave a curt nod and the six of them carried on down the path and out of the school.

"Er…why was Filch sniffing you?" Ron asked.

"I suppose he was checking for the smell of dung bombs," Harry replied with a small laugh. "I forgot to tell you…"

Hermione found the story of him sending his letter to Sirius and Filch barging in, demanding to see it, far more interesting than Harry himself did – he was much more preoccupied with the fact that Cho Chang had been there with him.

"He said he was tipped off that you were ordering dung bombs? But who tipped him off?"

"I dunno," Said Harry, shrugging. "Malfoy, maybe. He'd think it was a laugh."

"Malfoy?" Hermione said sceptically. "Well…yes…maybe."

And she remained deep in thought all the way to the outskirts of Hogsmede. Harry and Ron didn't mind though: they were both greatly amused by Ahsoka's continual efforts to worm the information out of Anakin.

"Pleeeease tell me." She pleaded pathetically, hoping that, if she made out like she was just some poor, defenceless little girl, her master might take pity on her. Unfortunately for her, though, Anakin knew her too well.

"No."

"At least give me a clue!"

"No."

"_PLEASE?_"

"Honestly, Ahsoka, it's really not that hard to figure out."

Rex cut in before Ahsoka could get down on her knees and beg – which she looked on the verge of doing and would, undoubtedly, been highly entertaining.

"Kid, he's trained not to give anything away even under torture. What can you do?

Ahsoka scowled at him, but then her eyes lit up as an idea struck her.

She danced in front of her master, concentrated, and waved her hand in front of her face.

"You will tell me who we are meeting."

Anakin's expression went blank. "I will not tell you who we are meeting." He replied in a monotone.

"Yes!" Ahsoka cheered. But then her eyes widened and she sobered. "Wait…did you just say –"

Anakin snorted, and stopped his play-acting. "You didn't honestly think that would work, did you?"

"Kinda…_hoped_?" She said in a small, subdued voice, and Anakin chuckled.

"Where are we going anyway?" Harry asked as they reached the small wizarding village. "The Three Broomsticks?"

"Oh – no," said Hermione, finally coming out of her reverie. "It's always packed and really noisy, so I've told the others to meet us in the Hogs' Head. You know – that other pub, not on the main road. I think it's a bit…you know…_dodge_, but students don't usually go in there, so I don't think we'll be overheard."

They walked at a brisk pace down the main street and then down a narrow side lane, on which a small inn stood. A bettered wooden sign hung from a rusty bracket over the door with a picture on it of a wild boar's severed head, leaking blood onto the white cloth around it. The sign creaked in the wind as they approached, hesitating in front of the peeling door.

"Nice," Ahsoka said drily. "And I bet it's a whole lot better inside."

Anakin rolled his sarcasm, but didn't comment: he knew she was most probably right. After all, he'd grown up in an area of pubs and clubs as decaying and obviously welcoming as this one. The only difference was that there was usually a lot more customers in those than there were here: he could only sense a few people inside – not even half a dozen.

"Well, come on then," Hermione said slightly nervously, and Harry led the way inside.

It was not at all like The Three Broomsticks, whose large bar gave the impression of gleaming warmth and cleanliness. The Hogs' Head bar comprised of one small, dingy and very dirty room that smelled strongly of what might have been goats. The windows were so encrusted with grime that very little daylight could permeate the room, which was lit instead by the small stubs of candles sitting on rough wooden tables. The floor seemed at first glance to be compressed earth, though when Harry stepped on it he realised that there was stone beneath what seemed to be the accumulated filth of centuries.

When Hagrid had explained to Harry how he had won a dragon egg from a stranger in this very pub in Harry's first year, he had wondered why Hagrid had not found it odd that the stranger kept his face hidden throughout the whole encounter. Now he saw that keeping your face hidden was something of a fashion in the Hogs' Head: there was a man at the bar whose head was completely wrapped in bandages, yet he was still managing to gulp down endless glasses of some smoking, fiery substance through a slit over his mouth; two figures shrouded in hoods sat at a table in one of the windows – Harry might have thought them to be Dementors had they not been talking in strong Yorkshire accents; and in a shadowy corner beside the fireplace sat a witch with a thick black veil that fell to her toes. They could just see the tip of her nose because it caused the veil to protrude slightly.

"I don't know about this, Hermione," Harry muttered as they crossed to the bar – he was looking particularly at the heavily veiled witch. "Has it occurred to you that Umbridge might be under that?"

Hermione cast an appraising eye over the veiled figure.

"Umbridge is shorter than that woman," She said quietly. "And anyway, even if she does come in here, there's nothing she can do to stop us Harry, because I've double and triple checked the school rules. We're not out of bounds: I specifically asked if students were allowed to come into the Hogs' head, and he said yes, but he advised me strongly to bring out own glasses. And I've looked up everything I can think of about study groups and homework groups and they're definitely allowed. I just don't think it's a good idea if we _parade_ what we're doing."

"No," Said Harry drily. "Especially since it's not exactly a homework group you're planning, is it?"

Anakin too was uneasy about the veiled witch. As his gaze lingered on her for a few moments, he reached deeply into the Force and probed the area around her. He sensed deception, but no ill-feelings towards them. Curious, he reached a little deeper and was pretty sure that the 'witch' wasn't actually a witch at all, but a wizard in disguise.

The barman sidled towards them out of a backroom. He was a grumpy-looking old man with a great deal of long grey hair and beard. He was tall and thin and looked vaguely familiar to Harry.

"What?" He grunted.

"Six butterbeers, please." Hermione said politely.

The man reached under the counter and pulled up six very dusty, very dirty bottles, which he slammed down on the bar.

"Twelve sickles." He said.

"I'll get them," Said Harry quickly, passing over the silver. The barmans eyes travelled over Harry, resting for a fraction of a second on his scar. Harry also thought his gaze lingered for a moment too long on Anakin, then sliding towards Ahsoka's strange appearance, as if he recognised them from a description, before he turned away and deposited Harry's money in an ancient wooden till whose drawer slid open automatically to receive it. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Anakin, Rex and Ahsoka then retreated to the furthest table away from the bar.

"So, who did you say was supposed to be meeting us?" Harry asked, wrenching open the rusty top of his butterbeer and taking a swig.

"Just a couple of people," She repeated vaguely, glancing at her watch and looking anxiously at the door. "I told them to be here about now, and I'm pretty sure they all know where it is – oh, look: this might be them now."

The door of the pub had opened, a thick band of dusty sunlight split the room in two for a moment and then vanished, blocked by the oncoming rush of a crowd of people.

First came Neville, Dean and Lavender, then Parvati and Padma Patil and (Harrys' stomach did a back flip) Cho Chang and one of her friends, then Luna Lovegood, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, Angelina Johnson, Colin and Dennis Creevy, Ernie MacMillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff girl with a long plait down her back whose name Harry did not know; three Ravenclaw boys who he was pretty sure were called Michael Corner, Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot; Ginny, closely followed by a tall, skinny blond boy with an up-turned nose who Harry recognised vaguely as a member of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and, bringing up the rear, Fred and George Weasley with their friend Lee Jordan, all carrying large brown paper bags crammed full of Zonko's merchandise.

"A couple of people?" said Harry hoarsely to Hermione. "_A couple of people?_"

"Yes, well, the idea did seem quite popular," she replied happily. "Can you guys pull up some more chairs?" She asked Anakin, Ron and Rex.

Harry watched numbly as the chattering crowd all pulled out money to pay for the twenty-five butterbeers and then sit themselves in a group around them. He was suddenly hit with the awful realisation that these people might be expecting some sort of speech, at which point he rounded on Hermione.

"What have you been telling people?" He demanded in a low voice. "What are they expecting?"

"I've told you, they just want to hear what you've got to say," Said Hermione soothingly as Ahsoka sat back down with Anakin beside her: but Harry continued to look at her so furiously that she quickly added: "You don't have to do anything yet; I'll speak to them first."

When everyone had settled themselves into a chair, the chatter died out and every eye turned to Harry.

"Er," said Hermione, her voice higher than usual due to nerves. "Well – er – hi."

The group focused on her instead, though people still kept shooting glances at Harry.

"Well…erm…well, you know why you're here. Er…well, Harry had the idea - mean" (Harry had thrown her a sharp look) "I had the idea – that it might be good if people wanted to study Defence Against the Dark Arts – and I mean really study it, you know, not that rubbish that Umbridge is doing with us –" (Here Hermione's voice became much suddenly much stronger and more confident) "– because nobody could call that Defence Against the Dark Arts. And, well, I thought it would be a good idea if we, well, took matters into our own hands. And by that I mean learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just in theory, but doing the real spells –"

"You want to pass your Defence Against the Dark Arts OWL too, though, I bet?" Said Michael Corner, who was watching her closely.

"Of course I do," She replied at once. "But more than that I want to be properly trained in defence because…because…" She took a deep breath and finished in a rush "Because Lord Voldemort is back"

The reaction was immediate and predictable: shrieks and slopped butterbeer, involuntary twitching, shuddering and an odd little yelp hastily turned into a cough. Of all the crowd, only Ahsoka, Anakin and Rex didn't react, having never grown up in fear of the evil wizard, and because they had seen so many horrors on the front lines that they were just used to that sort of thing.

"Well – that's the plan, anyway." Said Hermione. "If you want to join us, we need to decide how we're going to –"

"Where's the proof You-Know-Who's back?" Demanded the blond Hufflepuff player in a rather aggressive voice.

"Well, Dumbledore believes it –" Said Hermione.

"You mean Dumbledore believes _him_." Said the blond boy, nodding at Harry.

"Who are _you_?" Ron asked, rather rudely, Ahsoka thought, though she herself was beginning to seethe with anger at this irritating boy.

"Zacharias Smith, and I think we've all got the right to know exactly what makes him say You-Know-Who's back."

"That's really not what this meeting was supposed to be about," Said Hermione, intervening swiftly.

"It's OK, Hermione," Said Harry softly. He had just realised why there was so many people here, and briefly thought Hermione a little stupid for not thinking of it herself.

"What makes me say You-Know-Who is back? I saw him: but Dumbledore told you all what happened last year and if you didn't believe him, then you wont believe me."

Smith was dismissive: "All he told us last year was that Diggory got killed by You-Know-Who and that you brought his body back.; he didn't give us any details, and I think we'd all like to know –"

Harrys' temper flared. "I'm not going to tell you exactly what it looks like when Voldemort murders someone, so if that's all you're here for, you might as well get lost."

But no-one moved, not even Zacharias Smith.

Hermione's voice was suddenly high pitched again. "So…like I was saying…yes, if you want to learn some defence, then we need to work out how and how often we're going to do it, and where we're going to meet –"

"Is it true," Interrupted the girl with the long plait, looking intently at Harry. "That you can produce a Patronus?"

This caused a murmur of interest to ripple through the group.

"Yeah," Said Harry, slightly defensively.

"A corporeal Patronus?"

"You don't know Madame Bones, do you?"

The girl smiled. "She's my Auntie. I'm Susan Bones; she told me about your hearing."

"And that's not to mention all the other cool stuff he's done over the years!" Neville butted in excitedly. "Saving that Philological Stone –"

"Philosophers!" Hermione hissed.

"Yes, that – in our first year. Then killing the Basilisk with the sword in Dumbledore's office. And fighting off about a hundred dementors at once in third year…"

"Look," Harry interrupted desperately, as people stared at him in awe and wonder. "It all sounds great when you say it like that, but the truth is, I had a lot of help with that stuff."

"Not the Dementors, you didn't." said Ron scathingly.

"Or the Basilisk." Terry Boot said. "One of the portraits in Dumbledore's office told me when I was in there last year."

"Or the stone, really," Hermione said reasonably, and Harry began to feel irritated again.

"Yeah, alright, so I didn't have help with all of it," He admitted grudgingly. "But –"

"are you trying to weasel out of showing us this stuff?" Smith demanded.

Ahsoka – who had just about had it with this pathetic low-life – leapt to her feet and looked ready to pummel him within an inch of his life, but Anakin put a hand on her shoulder, pushing her back down. It looked like his hand remained merely resting there, but Harry knew it had to be taking a lot of strength to keep her in place right no, as annoyed as she was.

"That's not what he said," Fred snarled, pulling a lethal looking metal instrument out of one of the Zonko's bags at his feet. "Would you like us to clean your ears out for you?"

"Or any part of your body, really," George joined in. "We're not fussy where we stick this."

"Right, well, moving on." Said Hermione hastily. "I don't think there's any point in meeting less than once a week, and I also think we should put our names on this bit of parchment; none of us can tell Umbridge, though."

Fred reached out and cheerfully wrote his name down on the parchment that Hermione had just pulled out of her bag, but Rex noticed at once that many were looking less certain now.

"Er…" Ernie Macmillan said, and when Hermione raised her eyebrows at him, burst out: "Well, we _are_ prefects!"

"Ernie, do you really think I'd leave this list lying around?" Hermione demanded testily.

"I…no, of course no. Yes, of course I'll sign."

No-one raised objections after that, and when the last person – Zacharias – had signed, there was a new feeling in the group: the feeling of a shared secret and rebellion.

Where they were to meet posed a bigger problem than when, so after agreeing to keep an eye out for such a place, the group began to disperse until only Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ahsoka, Anakin and Rex remained.

Neither Anakin nor Rex had put their names on the list, and neither had Ahsoka, but they had all agreed this with Hermione the night before; none of them were really Hogwartians, after all.

Anakin and Rex went off to do something quickly, arranging to meet the other four outside The three Broomsticks after Hermione got her new quill.

As they were coming out of Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, Ahsoka clutched Harry's arm.

"That's Cad Bane!" She hissed, pointing towards a tall figure with a long coat buttoned all the way up, hiding what he wore underneath, and a large brimmed, elaborate hat which cast his face in shadow. Yet somehow Harry knew that that face wouldn't be human.

Ahsoka melted into the shadows as the tall figure passed, then reappeared breathing a sigh of relief.

Harry, whose mind was still focused on Cho's parting smile and wave, found nothing odd at all about this behaviour. Hermione, however, did.

Ignoring Ron, who continued to chunter on about Michael Corner under his breath, she raised her eyebrows at Ahsoka, waiting before this Cad Bane person had disappeared round a corner before speaking. "You know him?"

"Er," Ahsoka said, scratching her head distractedly. "I don't know if _know_ is the right word; more like _kick the shit out of him before he can me_." She hesitated slightly, and then added, "Well, he's taken me prisoner before, and it's kinda hard to attack someone when you're in Force-binding stun-cuffs." She shuddered at the memory of thousands of volts of electricity coursing through her at the press of a button by the button by the ruthless bounty hunter. "Come on; we'll be late for meeting the others."

They made their way quickly but carefully along the high street, careful to avoid the treacherous ice, and soon spotted Anakin and Rex lounging against the wall of the welcoming pub.

Anakin frowned as they approached, his penetrating gaze on Ahsoka. "Something's happened. What?"

"How did you…" Ron began, but quickly stopped himself. "Never mind," He muttered.

Ahsoka ignored him. "Bane's here," She said urgently, and Anakin's eyes widened infinitesimally. Apart from that, he gave no other visible signs of reaction.

"That's interesting," He murmured, his eyes now focused on something none of the others could see. "That's very interesting."

"Do you think he knows we're here?" Ahsoka asked, and Anakin snapped back down to Earth.

He regarded her thoughtfully. "No," He said eventually. "No, Snips, I don't. But, anyway," He glanced around at the other three, "here's someone inside waiting to meet you. And don't even think about trying to Force-sense them, Ahsoka," He added, turning back to her, an amused smile curving his lips as he felt her reach deeply into the Force. "They've masked their presence."

Ahsoka opened her eyes again and scowled at him. "At least tell me if they're male of female," She pleaded.

But Anakin just grinned and led the way inside.

Harry found himself looking around eagerly to catch a glimpse of this mysterious person. But it was not until Ahsoka let out a squeal of delight that he spotted them in the furthest corner of the bar, the table they sat at mostly cast in shadow.

"Master Kenobi!" Ahsoka's blue eyes widened and a delighted smile split open her face as she rushed forward to hug the man.

Chuckling slightly, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi hugged the excited Padawan back.

He smiled warmly down at her. "Hello, young one." He said, amused.

Harry studied the man curiously: he seemed to be a few years older than Anakin with a beard, moustache and hair that flopped slightly over his forehead, all of which was a reddish-brown colour. Yet he still looked dignified in his light coloured tunic-type-thing; with his utility belt and his Lightsaber attached and his long boots he certainly looked like someone who spent most of his life fighting. But his stormy-grey eyes didn't seem to portray as much of a rule-breaker as Anakin clearly was.

Anakin snorted behind him. "Well, I'm not huggin' you." He said, flopping down on the comfortable bench-seat next to a beautiful young woman with long, rich chestnut hair and amused brown eyes.

"I wouldn't expect you to," Obi-Wan replied, taking his seat again as the young woman rolled her eyes.

"Urgh: men." She said in exasperation, and Anakin chuckled as he embraced her.

It took a lot of self-restraint to release his young wife after the maximum time suitable to hug a friend, but he knew that they couldn't let anything slip because Obi-Wan knew nothing about their relationship, and he wasn't sure how he would react if he were to find out.

Ahsoka was next to lean forward and hug her friend, and Rex gave her a respectful nod.

"Senator," As a clone he wasn't really on a first name basis with her, but, now knowing of her secret relationship with his commanding General, he began to see her as more than just the calm yet strong-will, outspoken public figure as she was portrayed on the Holo-net. It also made sense now why they were always going on about her being single; of course she couldn't exactly announce to the Galaxy that she had joined in a forbidden marriage with their favourite war hero. He felt a sudden and unexpected surge of sympathy for the young woman before him: it must be difficult to have secret husband who was constantly away from home, with barely any leave.

"Captain," She replied politely, with a returned nod in his direction. She then turned and smiled at Harry, Ron and Hermione, who were feeling slightly self-conscious and out of place.

Obi-Wan chuckled. "I believe introductions are in order: I am Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, and this is Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo."

Hermione smiled back at the Senator, who she had taken an instant liking to and now realised must be Anakin's secret wife. "Nice to meet you, Senator."

Padmé laughed. "Please; call me Padmé. Formalities become so tedious."

Hermione smiled once more. "Padmé, then. I'm Hermione Granger, and this is Harry Potter and Ron Weasley."

While the three of them moved on to shake hands with Obi-Wan, Padmé felt a familiar, calloused yet strong hand take hers under the table.

Looking round in surprise, Anakin shot her a grin and the ghost of a wink, before squeezing her hand once and letting go quickly as Obi-an turned towards them once more.

* * *

><p>"Well, you'll be pleased to know that your men continue to amaze the galaxy with their exploits each day," Obi-Wan said conversationally to Anakin, with Rex listening in carefully: he was curious about what his brothers were getting up to. "General Krell commands them most spectacularly."<p>

Anakin choked on his drink, and glared at his master. "_Krell_?" He growled, and Obi-Wan looked slightly flabbergasted, but managed to keep his calm façade.

"Yes, Krell. You know the man. He's a –"

But Anakin interrupted him. "How many of my boys are dead, Master?"

Obi-Wan put on an exasperated expression, but Harry could see that underneath he still looked slightly uncomfortable. He didn't know who this Krell person was, but Anakin seem very happy about him commanding his troops.

"Anakin, the success of his missions cannot be argued with – his statistics are almost as high as yours for Force sake!"

"Yeah, and he also has the highest casualty of every General and ranking officer out there." Anakin snapped back.

Sighing in exasperation, Obi-Wan got up and left quickly to get more drinks. He knew his former Padawan was right: Pong Krell was a strange Jedi, who, Obi-Wan had had the feeling for a while, was possibly using the Dark Side during his missions. And that was not a good thing, The Jedi Master was known for sending his clones to their deaths – he seemed to think of them like the Separatists did their droids: expendable. And, while Anakin was reckless and often unpredictable himself, he still managed to bring his clones through each mission, barely losing any men: with Anakin in command, they weren't sent straight to their deaths by facing the enemy head on like Krell did it, rather they would be more likely to do something like sneak around the back and take them down from the inside. While many of the Masters disapproved of the fact that Anakin had spent nine years on Tantooine, Obi-Wan often thought that the extra knowledge came in handy.

Back at the table, Anakin sighed and leaned back against the wall, his face tense and etched with worry.

Padmé reached over and squeezed his hand. "Hey," She said softly, and waited until he looked round at her before continuing. "It's gonna be OK,"

Anakin smiled slightly, his eyes amused. "I thought Senators were supposed to have flawless manners and language?" He teased.

She smiled back, leaning forward slightly. "Well, I guess you're rubbing off on me. And I love the new look, by the way. You should go with it more often," She said softly, referring to the jeans and t-shirt he and Rex now wore instead of his usual Jedi robes.

Anakin grinned, and was about to close the distance between them when he suddenly sat back and let go of her hand.

Obi-Wan appeared, followed closely by Madame Rosmerta, who carried a tray of drinks.

She set them down on the table and left, but not before shooting Anakin a smile and a wink; much to Padmé's annoyance. She supposed she should be used to it; after all, her husband was a war hero, who also happened to be quite good looking. But she was his wife, and, as such, possessive and often got jealous when people flirted with him in front of her. It didn't help matters in the slightest that he was a Jedi, and therefore strictly off limits. Padmé found that many women just seemed to find this even more attractive.

To cover up the slightly awkward moment, and to help hide her masters' secret marriage, Ahsoka turned round to Obi-Wan as he took his seat once more.

"Master Kenobi, Cad Bane is here."

Obi-Wan's eyebrows shot up into his hair. "Are you sure?"

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "Who else would wear a hat like that?"

Anakin chuckled. "Good point. For someone who wants to blend in, his hats sure make him stand out."

Obi-Wan sat back in his chair and stroked his beard as he always did when he was thinking.

"Did he see you?" He asked.

Ahsoka shook her head. "No, Master."

He looked round at Anakin. "What about you?"

Anakin shook his head. "No: neither me nor Rex was there."

Obi-Wan nodded, satisfied for the moment. But he was curious: what in the Universe was the bounty hunter doing on this planet, of all places.

His attention was once again drawn to the conversation going on around him.

"I was expecting Obi-Wan, but I'll admit I was surprised to see you here, Senator." Anakin was saying.

Padmé laughed lightly. "I had some leave from the Senate – Jar Jar's standing in for me – and Master Kenobi here mentioned that he was coming out here, so I asked if I could accompany him."

"Eh, you just couldn't keep away, could you?" Anakin teased, flashing her a cocky grin.

She smiled back, amused. "well, I wasn't going to pass up the chance to see my two favourite Jedi, now was I?"

Ahsoka grinned. "Hear that, Master Kenobi?" She asked innocently. "_We're_ her two favourite Jedi; not you."

Obi-Wan merely rolled his eyes.

"So how long are you two here for?" Ron asked interestedly.

Padmé shrugged, and went to reply but Obi-Wan beet her to it.

"I'm afraid I must leave today: I'm returning to war. Apparently, I've had a long enough leave, and what with you being unavailable," He nodded at Anakin. "They need all they help they can get."

Ron's brow furrowed. "Who's _they_?"

"The Jedi Council."

"Well, I think I'll stay a little longer," Padmé said, with a slight smile towards Anakin. "I was granted a two week leave of absence by Chancellor Palpatine, but I made Dormé and Captain Typhoo swear they'd contact me if anything urgent came up. But apart from that, I'm free for the next week and a bit."

"Wont the Holo-net wonder where you are?" Ahsoka asked, and Padmé shrugged.

Anakin snorted, "Yeah, no doubt by the time you get back you'll have gone from 'taking a break' to 'missing in action' to 'dead' and then to 'miraculously survived'."

Harry chuckled. "You really don't like the Holo-net, do you?"

"Nope," He replied, popping the 'p'.

"Speaking of the Holo-net, what did you think of that article a while back about you, General Kenobi?" Rex asked innocently, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Obi-Wan scowled. "Utter bollocks, the lot of it."

Hermione gagged on her butterbeer, while Harry and Ron desperately tried not to laugh.

Anakin grinned and Ahsoka said; "I see Skyguy's rubbing off on you, too. Master."

Anakin sighed. "Is everyone's language my fault now?"

"Pretty much," Padmé replied, and shot him an innocent smile when he glared at her. But the glare soon turned into a soft smile as his eyes traced the features of her face.

* * *

><p>Padmé returned to the castle with them that afternoon, and joined them for dinner.<p>

Anakin seemed amused as she seemingly didn't know what much of the food was.

She raised an eyebrow and stared back at him coolly. "I happen to like knowing what it is I'm eating, General Skywalker," She said, in what Anakin called her 'politician voice'. "Unlike some I could mention," Her eyes glitter devilishly as he grinned back.

"Then you'd be no good out in battle, milady," He replied with a smirk. "Even I couldn't tell you what the hell is in those ration sticks."

Ahsoka shuddered. "How about that stuff they call 'stew'? I have no idea what's supposed to be in that. How about you, Rexster?"

"Nope," Rex replied round a mouthful of mashed potato.

"You see, Senator?" Anakin asked innocently. "You take what you can get."

"Was it the same on Tantooine, then?" She shot back, and watched as he nodded, his expression and emotions suddenly on lock down.

"Sorry," She muttered.

He smiled. "Don't worry about it. Not your fault, what happened."

She shot him a sharp look, and took his non-gloved hand in her own. "It's not _yours_ either."

Anakin shrugged, and continued eating.

There was silence for a few minutes, before Ahsoka broke it, directing her question at her master.

"Master Yoda has a saying: 'old sins cast long shadows'. Do you, know what he means by that?" She asked innocently, but Anakin was not fooled.

Rolling his eyes, he replied, "He means your past can destroy your future if you allow it. But you forget it was Master Skywalker who said: 'I don't wasn't to talk about my past'."

She sighed, and went back to eating.

"So, what's so bad about this General Krell person commanding your troops, anyway?" Ron asked after a while. "I mean, you're fighting a war: you must be used to loosing men."

Anakin set down his cutlery, running his gauntleted hand through his hair. "It's not that. Krell has the highest casualty numbers because he doesn't consider safe routes for the clones; he just sends them on suicide missions."

"I still don't get it."

"Ron, a lot of those men have been with us since the start of the war. The 501st Battalion are different from the others," Rex interjected seriously. "We have a General who didn't grow up with the restrictions of the Jedi Code – didn't pay much attention to it when he did join the Temple, either, from what I've heard – and who still remembers what it's like to be a person, not a Jedi. A lot of the other Masters don't have that in them. The boys in the 501st are the best because they can work together well as a team and aren't treated as mindless drones like a lot of other troopers – Krell's own battalion, for instance."

"Not that there's much left of that," Anakin muttered sourly.

Rex continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "Sure, we lose the occasional clone, but the ones that survive have been with the General so long that they know how he works; they know how each other works. They're treated as individuals and, as such, think for themselves instead of just mindlessly following orders. But I don't know how well they can hold out against Krell."

Silence greeted the end of his statement, but it was Anakin who broke it.

"Nice speech," He said conversationally – as if he had merely been talking about the weather. "I never knew you had it in you." And Rex grinned.

They had been late to dinner, and, by the time they were all finished, there was hardly anyone left: a few Ravenclaws, a couple of Hufflepuffs, three or four Slytherins, the seven of them, Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape and Professor Umbridge.

They were just getting up to leave when the great double doors banged open, revealing a tall, terrifying figure in a long coat and ridiculous, wide-brimmed hat.

"Bane." Anakin growled.

But that wasn't all. The bounty hunter had a prisoner, whose normally pretty face was red and blotchy from crying – probably because of the blaster pointed at her head.

Harry's heart missed a beat, and then pounded away twice as fast as its normal rate.

"Cho!"

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it took so long to update, but I've been busy. Anyway, plz leave some reviews and I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can.<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry about the cliff-hanger. But here's the next chapter…**

**Chapter Six**

_Previously_…

"_Bane." Anakin growled._

_But that wasn't all. The bounty hunter had a prisoner, whose normally pretty face was red and blotchy from crying – probably because of the blaster pointed at her head._

_Harry's heart missed a beat, and then pounded away twice as fast as its normal rate._

"_Cho!"_

* * *

><p>A stunned silence fell across the Great Hall, all eyes turned – wide and staring – towards the bounty hunter. But the silence was soon shattered by Pansy Parkinson's scream of terror, and the spell was broken.<p>

Glancing around him, Ron noticed that Anakin, Ahsoka and Rex had disappeared, and he wondered vaguely where they had got to. But he had more pressing matters to attend to right now, such as the few remaining students in the hall screaming and scrambling around in terror. Honestly: amateurs. Didn't they know that it was better not to show how much your enemy had rattled or scared you on front of him? Well. Ron didn't really know that either, but even he had quickly realised, faced with a life or death situation.

The noise of Bane's blaster going off quietened everyone, as did his yelled: "_SHUT IT!_"

"That's better," He said, returning the blaster to Cho Chang's temple, who whimpered in response, fresh tears streaming down her face. Pushing his hat back slightly, they could now clearly see his face. A fresh scream of terror greeted the sight, but Parkinson was soon silenced once more.

Harry gaped openly at the bounty hunters face, because it was like nothing he had ever seen before: his head appeared to be humanoid in shape, but his skin was blue and his eyes were large red rectangles which took up half of the space that was visible beneath the hat. To those from Hogwarts – who had never seen a different species from another Galaxy (well, except from Ahsoka, but she didn't count because she just looked like a human with weird hair and white tattoos on her face) – it was a face from a horror movie.

His long coat was open this time, so Harry, Ron and Hermione could clearly see what he wore beneath it.

His dark shirt was about as Earth-normal as his ling coat, but the utility-belt he wore slung low around his waist was heavy with spare ammo and he had twin holsters hanging down the side of his legs. His long boots seemed to have some sort of metal cylinder on the heels of them, and both his gauntlets had what looked like a miniature data-pad and comm.-link as well as a hole from which a small, three-legged device peaked – Harry had the uneasy feeling that there was possibly a cord attached to it that would shoot out at the press of one of those buttons on his gauntlet. All in all, he looked like someone dangerous and who obviously lived for his job.

"Now, I'm sure you're all wondering why I am here, and if you'll just stay in your seats and SHUT UP –" (that last bit was added as a shout because a small first year Ravenclaw had burst into noisy tears. His frantic friend tried desperately to console his young friend, though he too was shivering in terror) "– I will explain."

Harry glanced around him, and wasn't surprised to find that Anakin, Ahsoka and Rex had quietly slipped out of their seats without anyone noticing. He spotted Rex edging slowly along one wall, blaster in hand as he headed up to a spot near the teachers table where he would be relatively invisible to the bounty hunter yet still able to shoot him should the situation call for it – and Hermione had the strangest feeling that it probably would.

Both Anakin and Ahsoka were working their way towards Bane – Anakin on the left, Ahsoka to the left – although Anakin's goal seemed to be _behind_ the bounty hunter.

Dumbledore rose to his feet against Bane's wishes, and fixed him with a stern glare.

"Who are you?" He demanded, and Bane laughed evilly, before sketching an elaborate, mocking bow towards the headmaster.

"The name's Cad Bane, and I'm here to collect my payday. The Separatists are willing to pay handsomely for your lady-friend in the pink, there." Bane nodded towards Umbridge, whose toad-like face paled as she whimpered piteously in fear.

Dumbledore's eyes darted towards Umbridge then away again. He knew he had to keep the bounty hunter talking until Anakin and his comrades could get into a position where they could take down Bane without any of the students getting injured – and that included getting Cho out of there too. If there was one thing Dumbledore could not stand, it was harm coming to any of his students.

"And why do your masters want Professor Umbridge?"

If Bane could have rolled his eyes he would have. "Alright, first off: they are not my _masters_; they're simply my employers for this particular job until I can find another job that will pay more. And secondly; I really don't give a shit _what_ they want with her: my job is simply to detain and then deliver her to a person or persons whose identities I'm not bloody likely to divulge with the likes of _you_."

"Care to divulge them with _me_?" Asked a voice behind him, and Bane stiffened as he heard the all too familiar snap-hiss of a Jedi's Lightsaber, and then a second and third from somewhere to his left.

Looking round slightly, he saw the two Jedi in question, and a small part of him groaned. The other part was curious: what was this Jedi doing all the way out here? He had noticed his peculiar absence from the battle field, but he hadn't given it much thought at the time.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Skywalker and his little brat of a Padawan," Bane sneered, tightening his hold on the girl and pressing his gun closer to her temple – he was pleased in a sick sort of way to hear her whimper in terror and to feel her tremble in his clutches. "What are you doing all the way out here, boy?"

Anakin smirked. "I'd ask you the same thing: surely this bounty is a little tam e for the Great Cad Bane?"

Bane snarled in frustration and loathing. Oh, how he _hated_ this Jedi: he had foiled his plans once too often. "I don't take kindly to mockery, of _Mister Hero-With-No-Fear_." He replied mockingly, imitating Anakin's tone.

"And yet, sadly, you receive it wherever you go." The Padawan said innocently, yet Bane could still see the same smirk on her face just beneath the surface as on her masters.

"Perhaps you need me to teach you a lesson like I did before, you impudent little –"

"Let the girl go, Bane, and we'll _consider_ amending your sentence slightly." Anakin interrupted.

"Who are you to arrest me, you low-class desert _rat_." Bane sneered, his attention focused so much on Anakin that he failed to notice that his hold on Cho was loosening. "That's right, Skywalker: I looked you up. Did a bit of research. Uncovered some things I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want the galaxy to find out –"

He was cut off as Anakin punched him hard enough to make any other man at the very least fall over, but which only made Bane stumble back a few steps.

But that was all Anakin needed.

His hand flashed out, curling around Cho's wrist as he yanked her towards him and away from Bane. She nearly made it.

Unfortunately, when the bounty hunter had stumbled backwards, his finger had acted on reflex and pulled the trigger of his blaster.

Cho screamed as the red bolt hit her shoulder, creating a ragged, bleeding wound, and Anakin swore colourfully as he caught her limp body in his arms. Glancing down at her face as he quickly checked her over, making sure she was actually still alive, he noticed that she had only fainted. Clearly getting shot at wasn't something that happened to _her_ on a daily basis.

With a snarl of rage, Bane whipped round and trained his blaster on Skywalker and the dark haired young girl in his arms.

As he pulled the trigger however, Ahsoka jumped in front of him and deflected the bolt with one of her twin green Lightsaber. She hadn't had time to aim it anywhere, so it just went flying off to the side and hit one of the stone walls of the Great Hall.

Bane lowered his blaster to his side, slightly surprised by the girls' act. Then again, she was a Jedi, and Skywalker's pupil at that. She was bound to be bolder that the others – she may not realise it, but she became more like her master every day.

Something of a smile curved his flat mouth as he raised both his blasters this time.

"Aright then," He said, a smirk evident in his voice. "Time to see what you're made of, Kid."

And he started firing right at her.

* * *

><p>Away from the small-scale battle that was going on at one end of the long Hall that seemed to be away in a world of its own, those not included in it were clustered together behind the long teachers table.<p>

Knowing her husband as she did, Padmé had had the feeling that blaster bolts would soon be flying everywhere, so she had quickly swung into action and got everyone up onto the raised platform at the top of the hall and to the relative safety of behind the staff table.

Dumbledore came up behind her, instantly noting her troubled expression and anxious brown eyes which were trained on Anakin below, who was shielding Cho and deflecting the bolts that Ahsoka accidentally sent their way.

"Do you think they can do it?" He asked, and she glanced at him once then quickly away, unable to keep her eyes off her husband and his young Padawan – she and Ahsoka had grown close since she had first been assigned to Anakin.

"Bane is crafty – Anakin once told me that he's the most devious and cunning bounty hunter he had ever had to fight. They will protect us, but they may not capture Bane…he usually manages to slip away if he's about to be brought to justice."

"I see." The aging headmaster said, his piercing blue eyes returning to the trio just as a bolt got past her defences and hit Ahsoka in the arm.

She cried out in pain, her Lightsaber deactivating as they fell from her hands with blood pouring down her arm and dripping onto the floor from the deep wound. She quickly raised her hand to her heart, slowing the steady flow of blood as Padmé and Dumbledore both gasped and made to run towards her.

Anakin, seeing this, yelled: "Keep them up there!"

Padmé didn't realise who he was talking to until Rex was there in front of her, blaster in hand and blocking her path.

She and Dumbledore skittered to a stop, and Padmé glowered over the clones' shoulder at her husband.

"You fought well, you stupid Jedi brat." Bane growled, stepping over to Ahsoka and levelling his blaster at her head, aiming between her eyes as they widened in fear. "Too bad you won't live long enough to do it again."

He squeezed the trigger and Ahsoka closed her eyes as time seemed to slow down around her. Images flashed in front of her eyes: of her and her master arguing when she had first been assigned to him and thinking that there must have been a mistake because Anakin hadn't asked for a Padawan; of her and Anakin standing back to back with their Lightsaber activated and Jabba the Hutt ordering their execution for safely returning his young son – a mission which Anakin in particular had not enjoyed because it meant returning to his home planet, which he had hoped he would never have to lay eyes on again; then images of her and Master Plo Koon, who she could always go to is she had a problem. He always listened, and, before she had met Anakin, she was closest to the calm Jedi Master who had found her and brought her to the Jedi Temple as a child.

Just as she thought that this was the end, she heard a swishing sound that was so familiar, and then felt the heat of her masters' Lightsaber as it passed centimetres from her face, deflecting the blaster bolt that would have been fatal to her.

Bane lowered his blaster slightly in surprise as the Jedi who had thwarted him so many times before leapt in front of his Padawan and saved her life by millimetres.

Recognising the steely look of determination in the young mans' eyes, and correctly realising that he couldn't win this particular fight, the blue-skinned bounty hunter let out a snarl of annoyance and pure hatred, and drew something out of his long coats' pocket.

Anakin's eyes widened as recognised what it was, but, before he had time to react, Bane dropped the smoke bomb and it went off with a loud _BANG_!

Coughing and spluttering violently while wiping their streaming eyes as the thick smoke cleared, Anakin and Ahsoka saw to their dismay that Cad Bane had – once again – got away.

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later everyone who had been in the Great Hall was up in the hospital wing, the students being given something for the shock while Cho lay in a cordoned off bed at one end of the room, still out cold, while Ahsoka was having her arm bandaged tightly by Madame Pomfrey and surrounded by Anakin, Padmé, Rex, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Dumbledore.<p>

"Preposterous!" Madame Pomfrey was saying, briskly winding the long, white bandage round and round Ahsoka's arm. "A bounty hunter! In the castle! Whatever next?!"

Anakin rolled his eyes behind her back, and Ahsoka giggled.

Madame Pomfrey fixed her with a shrewd look. "Are you sure you're OK, dear? You don't want anything for the shock?"

Ahsoka smiled patiently. "I'm fine, Madame Pomfrey. Honest, I'm not in shock."

The nurse snorted disbelievingly, then turned her stern gaze on Anakin, Rex and Padmé. "And what about you three?"

"We're not going into shock, either." Rex smiled.

"Yeah, this is a quiet day for us." Anakin added with a grin, and Dumbledore chuckled.

"Do you think he'll be back?" He asked, and Anakin shrugged.

"Depends how much money he'll get for the job." He replied.

"And now he knows you're here, he probably won't want to go up against you." Ahsoka added with a wicked grin shot towards her master.

Anakin grimaced. "Well, that too."

"Why wouldn't he want to go up against you?" Ron asked, confused.

"Because Anakin is well known all over the galaxy as a Jedi who is very good on the battlefield." Padmé said, speaking up for the first time since Madame Pomfrey had come over. "Many Separatists fear him, because the success rates of his missions are so high."

"Plenty of other Jedi are well known too." Anakin muttered, as everyone turned to stare at him.

Padmé smiled slightly, and twisted her fingers through his. "But not like you. The Separatists know how little regard for your own life you hold, and that you aren't afraid to put it on the line to win the battle."

Anakin's expression softened as he pulled her into his arms, letting her press her face into his chest, enjoying the feel of his strong arms around her slim waist. "You know I care," He murmured quietly in her ear. "You know I wouldn't leave you."

She nodded slightly against him, but didn't reply.

"You know, I always figured there must be something bringing him through all those missions – something he had to return to. Now I guess I know it's true." Rex said, smiling at her, and received a small one in return.

"So, basically, he might come back, he might not." Dumbledore summarised. "How helpful."

Anakin grinned. "Bane ain't your average bounty hunter. He's smart and cunning and dangerous. He's like the elite of the bounty hunters. He's barely failed any jobs and even managed to break into and steal from the most secure area of the Jedi Temple once – and that is _not_ an easy thing to do."

Dumbledore nodded, his expression thoughtful as he considered how to handle the situation. "Right, well: what happened in the great Hall is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows about it. Anakin, Rex, I want you to tighten your patrols of the castle – do them more regularly as well." Padmé felt Anakin sag slightly against her and giggled, bringing a grin to her husbands face as he glanced down, pleased that he had made her laugh in this unusually morose mood she seemed to be in. "If you see anything out of the ordinary, report it to me immediately." Dumbledore continued.

Ahsoka snorted. "Dude, it's a school full of magic. Everything here is out of the ordinary for us!"

Rex smiled, and sat down on the bed beside her, putting an arm round her shoulders. "You just concentrate on healing. Me and the General can handle the rough work." Ahsoka smiled back, and didn't shake his arm off.

Padmé glanced up at her husband, amusement dancing in her eyes as he grimaced back. So. It seemed like his trusted Captain and troublesome Padawan liked each other. He could also sense 'out of the ordinary' emotions building up inside Harry towards Ahsoka, though he was yet to acknowledge or reveal any such feelings. Anakin sighed: this could get complicated.

"Well, that's settled then. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go speak with Professor Umbridge." Dumbledore gestured down the room towards where the toad-faced-teacher was sitting bolt upright in bed, her eyes wide and unfocused.

"Bit more than you bargained for, huh?" Anakin said, grinning down at Padmé as he sat down in a chair next to Ahsoka's bed and pulled her down onto his knee.

"Just a little," She laughed. "But you get used to life or death situations when you're married to you." She grinned as her young husband scowled playfully.

"I'm not married to him and even _I'm_ used to them." Ahsoka chimed in, rolling her eyes.

Padmé smiled. "You're a Jedi though, so you'd be in those situations even without Anakin constantly dragging you into danger."

"Hey!" Anakin protested as the others all laughed out loud. "You can hardly talk!" He jabbed a finger into her side, and she shrieked in surprise, before laughing and winding her arms around his neck. "You're a Senator who has more people out there who want you dead than the rest of the Senate pt together! And Ahsoka causes enough trouble on her own!" He added as an after thought.

Padmé raised her eyebrows. "Slight exaggeration, don't you think?"

Her husband just snorted derisively.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it took so long, and that it's so short, but I wanted to get at least this part up before you all started hating me. Anyway, I hope you liked it and didn't think me too mean for shooting Cho – I considered killing her there and then, but that wouldn't have been too exciting.<strong>

**I know I didn't portray Padme as the strong politician she normally is, but I figured everyone is allowed a moment of weakness, especially when it comes to your husbands safety!**

**I'll try to update sooner next time, but no promises. Please leave some reviews letting me know what you thought!**


	7. IMPORTANT AN

Wow, sorry guys!

OK, so I've had a ton of e-mails asking me to update this story and I promise you, I WILL DO IT! Not sure when, exactly, but I definitely will.

I have the first part of the next chapter done - and have done since the last chapter was posted, to be honest - but I don't have the book: my little brother has YET AGAIN oh-so-helpfully lost it - sorry about that. I know I could just write the story without it, but I want to keep it as close to the events time-wise as the book, obviously with Star Wars thrown in (yes, we will be getting to that universe eventually!), so I kinda do need the book...plus, it helps out when I'm not sure what to write next.

Anyway, I will update, I just can't promise when! Probably not for a while, though, since I have exams pretty soon.

Please don't give up on me! :(

Sorry if you though this was a chapter by the way...


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